I find the weeds in my yard are a tenacious bunch. I diligently pluck the dandelions with my weed picker, but they seem to continue to grow again with the smallest amount of root still left in the ground. The crab grass is especially tenacious. Everything I try just doesn’t seem to get rid of it. I have even stooped to using Roundup on a Q-tip.
Tenacious means aggressively persistent. She was tenacious in pursuing her goal of a scholarship, working late into the night most evenings to achieve top marks in her classes.
Tenacious comes from the Latin word tenax, meaning holding fast or persistent. In the 17th century tenacious was used for both literal adhesion and figurative perseverance. The ivy grew up on the side of the house with such a tenacious hold on the siding that even the most ferocious winds could not rip it apart. Though she was hit and knocked down each time she crossed the opposition’s blueline with the puck, she tenaciously continued to advance across the line and eventually scored.
Adding the Latin prefix per to tenax led to the English word pertinacious, meaning stubbornly tenacious, to the point of perversion. The pertinacious car salesperson would not let the couple leave without making some kind of commitment. Spam calls are considered pertinacious.
Tenacious can imply dogged adherence to something valued or desired. He was a tenacious advocate of building more pipelines to move oil across the country to the coast for shipping overseas.
Tenacious suggests enduring when challenged. Struggles can either break a person, or they can create a tenacious spirit.
Strong, stout, sturdy, stalwart, tough, and tenacious connote showing power to resist or to endure.
Strong implies power derived from muscular vigor, large size, structural soundness, intellectual or spiritual resources. The branches of the willow trees were not strong enough to endure the 90 km winds, so the yard was filled with broken limbs. The prosecuting attorney put forward such a strong case that the defense asked for a deal.
Stout indicates an ability to endure stress, pain, or hard use without giving way. In preparation for the vacation to the mountains, they shopped for stout hiking boots.
Sturdy signifies strength derived from vigorous growth, determination of spirit, or solidity of construction. The stalk of the mammoth sunflower was sturdy enough to bear the weight of the large flowers two meters in the air.
Stalwart implies unshakable dependability. The stalwart volunteer showed up regularly each morning at the Food Bank to help in whatever way possible.
Tough signifies great firmness and resiliency. She had great admiration for the opposition leader as a tough political adversary.
Tenacious describes strength in seizing, retaining, clinging to, or holding together. There are still many tenacious farmers that adhere to a longstanding way of life in rural areas around the province.
We can also use tenacious to label a good memory, one that has a better than average capacity to store information. I find that as one ages, a tenacious memory is wanting at times.
Even though many weeds may be tenacious in your lawn, remember that your landscape is more than weeds. There are many other things on your property to notice, that can keep you from stressing about a less than perfect lush grassy lawn.
Columnist John Kreutzwieser loves to research words and has an interest in the usage, origin, and relevance of words for society today. Greek and Latin form the basis of many words, with ancient Hebrew shedding light on word usage.
John would like to know if anyone has a sincere interest in a relevant word that he could possibly research for an upcoming column. If so, please send your requests to wordwisdom2021@gmail.com. Words will be selected according to relevance and research criteria. We cannot confirm that all words will be used.
