different between persistency vs constancy

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /p??s?st(?)nsi/

Noun

persistency (countable and uncountable, plural persistencies)

1. (uncountable) The state or characteristic of being persistent.
   • 1913, Gilbert Murray, Euripides and His Age, Chapter II:

     However that may be, the hostility of the comic writers had evidently a general hostility behind it. Our tradition states this definitely and the persistency of the attacks proves it.

   • 2008 March 29, Ed Pilkington, "The white house losers," The Guardian (UK) (retrieved 6 July 2014):

     "I'm not into mood changes," he says. "These ups and downs undermine consistency and persistency of purpose."

2. (countable) A measure of how much something persists.
   • 1998 March 28, John Chapman, "Pensions Investigated," The Independent (UK) (retrieved 6 July 2014):

     The table shows that three-year "persistencies" range from 89.6 per cent with Standard Life (this means only 10 per cent of plans have lapsed after three years) to 58.9 per cent with Sun Life (almost 40 per cent of plans lapse after three years).

Usage notes

• Less commonly used than persistence.

Synonyms

• persistence

Translations

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin constantia.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?k?nst?nsi/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?k?nst?nsi/
• Hyphenation: con?stan?cy

Noun

constancy (usually uncountable, plural constancies)

1. (uncountable) The quality of being constant; steadiness or faithfulness in action, affections, purpose, etc.
   • c. 1605, William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act II, Scene 2, [1]

     A little water clears us of this deed: / How easy is it, then! Your constancy / Hath left you unattended.

   • 1871, Charles Darwin, Descent of Man, chapter 7 "On the Races of Man,"

     Constancy of character is what is chiefly valued and sought for by naturalists.
2. (countable) An unchanging quality or characteristic of a person or thing.
   • 1602, William Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well, Act 1, scene ii:

     younger spirits . . .

     whose constancies

     Expire before their fashions.

Related terms

• constant
• constantly

Translations

References

• Webster, Noah (1828) , “constancy”, in An American Dictionary of the English Language
• constancy in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• “constancy” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.
• Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996.