Perseverate
Latin per, very + sevērus, strict
Perseverate refers to repeating or prolonging an action, thought, or response after the stimulus that prompted it has stopped. The term is used chiefly in psychology, where perseveration describes the involuntary repetition of a word, phrase, gesture, or idea, often discussed in connection with brain injury or neurodevelopmental conditions. More loosely, to perseverate is to get stuck on something and keep returning to it past the point of usefulness.
First principles
To perseverate is to keep going after the reason to go has stopped.
It is persistence cut loose from its purpose: the same thought, word, or action coming back long after the moment that called for it has passed. Persevere comes from the same Latin verb, but perseverance moves toward a goal while perseveration circles with none. It is a process that cannot tell it has finished.
At its core, it asks:
- What set it going?Find the thought, prompt, or need the repetition first answered.
- Is that reason still here?If the cause has gone and the action has not, persistence has become perseveration.
- Can you see the loop?Perseveration often runs below awareness, so the first step out is noticing the repeat.
Etymology
- per
- very, thoroughly
- sevērus
- strict, serious, severe
The word perseverate comes from the Latin per meaning "very" or "thoroughly" and sevērus meaning "strict," "serious," or "severe." Together they formed persevērus, "very strict" or "very earnest," and from it the verb persevērāre, "to continue steadfastly" or "to persist." English borrowed the noun perseveration from Latin, directly or by way of Old French, and perseverate was later formed back from that noun, mostly in psychology. It is a twin of persevere, from the same Latin source: perseverance is persistence aimed at a goal, while perseveration is repetition that has lost one.