Per`se*ver"ance (?), n.
[F. persévérance, L. perseverantia.]
1. The act of persevering; persistence in anything undertaken; continued pursuit or prosecution of any business, or enterprise begun. "The king-becoming graces . . . perseverance, mercy,
lowliness." Shak.
Whose constant perseverance overcame
Whate'er his cruel
malice could invent.
Milton.
2. Discrimination. [Obs.] Sir J. Harrington.
3. (Theol.) Continuance in a state of grace until it is succeeded by
a state of glory; sometimes called
final perseverance, and the perseverance of the saints. See Calvinism.
Syn. -- Persistence; steadfastness; constancy; steadiness;
pertinacity.
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