prevail
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Middle English prevailen < Old French prevaler < Latin praevaleō (“‘be very able or more able, be superior, prevail’”) < prae (“‘before’”) + valeō (“‘be able or powerful’”).
[edit] Pronunciation
- Audio (US)help, file
- Rhymes: -eɪl
[edit] Verb
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Infinitive |
Third person singular |
Simple past |
Past participle |
Present participle |
to 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.
[edit] Quotations
- 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.
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
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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[edit] References
- prevail in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- prevail in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
