persistent

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Obstinately refusing to give up or let go.

   She has had a persistent cough for weeks.

2. 2
   adj

   Insistently repetitive.

   There was a persistent knocking on the door.

3. 3
   adj

   Indefinitely continuous.

   There have been persistent rumours for years.

4. 4
   adj

   Lasting past maturity without falling off.

   Pine cones have persistent scales.

5. 5
   adj

   Of data or a data structure: not transient or temporary, but remaining in existence after the termination of the program that creates it.

   Once written to a disk file, the data becomes persistent: it will still be there tomorrow when we run the next program.

6. 6
   adj

   never-ceasing

7. 7
   adj

   continually recurring to the mind

8. 8
   adj

   retained

Etymology

From Latin persistentem, present participle of persistō (“continue steadfastly”). By surface analysis, persist + -ent.