perse

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Persecuted p. pr. & vb. n. Persecuting. ] [ F. persécueter, L. persequi, persecutus, to pursue, prosecute; per + sequi to follow, pursue. See Per-, and Second. ] 1. To pursue in a manner to injure, grieve, or afflict; to beset with cruelty or malignity; to harass; especially, to afflict, harass, punish, or put to death, for adherence to a particular religious creed or mode of worship. [ 1913 Webster ]

Do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. Matt. v. 44. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To harass with importunity; to pursue with persistent solicitations; to annoy. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To oppress; harass; distress; worry; annoy. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. Same as oppressed.
Syn. -- downtrodden, oppressed. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ F. persécution, L. persecutio. ] 1. The act or practice of persecuting; especially, the infliction of loss, pain, or death for adherence to a particular creed or mode of worship. [ 1913 Webster ]

Persecution produces no sincere conviction. Paley. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The state or condition of being persecuted. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A carrying on; prosecution. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L.: cf. F. persécuteur. ] One who persecutes, or harasses. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. ] A woman who persecutes. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Perseus. ] (Astron.) One of a group of shooting stars which appear yearly about the 10th of August, and cross the heavens in paths apparently radiating from the constellation Perseus. They are probably fragments of Swift's comet of 1862 (III). [ 1913 Webster + Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

prop. n. [ L., from Gr. Persey`s. ] 1. (Class. Myth.) A Grecian legendary hero, son of Jupiter and Danaë, who slew the Gorgon Medusa. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Astron.) A consellation of the northern hemisphere, near Taurus and Cassiopea. It contains a star cluster visible to the naked eye as a nebula. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To persevere. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]