prevail

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”).

• IPA^(key): /pɹɪˈveɪl/

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• Rhymes: -eɪl
• Hyphenation: pre‧vail

prevail (third-person singular simple present prevails, present participle prevailing, simple past and past participle prevailed)

1. (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.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981:

     , 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.

2. (intransitive) To be current, widespread or predominant; to have currency or prevalence.

   In his day and age, such practices prevailed all over Europe.

3. (intransitive) To succeed in persuading or inducing.

   I prevailed on him to wait.

   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

     Jones began to be very importunate with the lady to unmask; and at length having prevailed, there appeared not Mrs Fitzpatrick, but the Lady Bellaston herself.

4. (transitive, obsolete) To avail.

• cooler heads will prevail

• prevalence
• prevalent

• prevail in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• prevail in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

• pervial