prevail
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English prevailen, from Old French prevaler, from Latin praevaleō (“be very able or more able, be superior, prevail”), from prae (“before”) + valeō (“be able or powerful”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
prevail (third-person singular simple present prevails, present participle prevailing, simple past and past participle prevailed)
- (intransitive) To be superior in strength, dominance, influence or frequency; to have or gain the advantage over others; to have the upper hand; to outnumber others.
- Red colour prevails in the Canadian flag.
- (intransitive) To be current, widespread or predominant; to have currency or prevalence.
- In his day and age, such practices prevailed all over Europe.
- (intransitive) To succeed in persuading or inducing.
- I prevailed on him to wait.
Quotations[edit]
- to be superior in strength
- 1611, King James Version of the Bible (Authorized Version)[1], Exodus 17:11
- And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
To be superior in strength, dominance, influence or frequency; to have or gain the advantage over others; to have the upper hand
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To be current, widespread or predominant; to have currency or prevalence
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To succeed in persuading or inducing
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
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References[edit]
- prevail in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- prevail in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
