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Origin and history of prevail

prevail(v.)

c. 1400, prevailen, "be successful; be efficacious," from Old French prevaleir (Modern French prévaloir) and directly from Latin praevalere "be stronger or more able, have greater power," from prae "before" (see pre-) + valere "have power, be strong" (from PIE root *wal- "to be strong").

The spelling in English perhaps has been influenced by avail. The meaning "have or exert superior influence" is from mid-15c. (to prevail upon "succeed in persuading" is by 1570s). The sense of "be in force, be prevalent or current" is by 1776. Related: Prevailed; prevailing.

also from c. 1400

Entries linking to prevail

prevailing(adj.)

1590s, "vigorous;" 1680s, "widely accepted, generally current," present-participle adjective from prevail (v.). Related: Prevailingly.

Prevalent and prevailing are sometimes the same, and in two senses, that of exceeding in strength, as the prevalent (or prevailing) opinion was against action, and that of existing widely, as scarlet fever is a prevalent (or prevailing) distemper. The habitual is more likely to be expressed by prevalent ; the present or actual, sometimes the temporary, by prevailing : as, the prevailing fashion. [Century Dictionary]
pre-

word-forming element meaning "before," from Old French pre- and Medieval Latin pre-, both from Latin prae (adverb and preposition) "before in time or place," from PIE *peri- (source also of Oscan prai, Umbrian pre, Sanskrit pare "thereupon," Greek parai "at," Gaulish are- "at, before," Lithuanian prie "at," Old Church Slavonic pri "at," Gothic faura, Old English fore "before"), extended form of root *per- (1) "forward," hence "beyond, in front of, before."

The Latin word was active in forming verbs. Also see prae-. Sometimes in Middle English muddled with words in pro- or per-.

*wal-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to be strong."

It might form all or part of: ambivalence; Arnold; avail; bivalent; convalesce; countervail; Donald; equivalent; evaluation; Gerald; Harold; invalid (adj.1) "not strong, infirm;" invalid (adj.2) "of no legal force;" Isold; multivalent; polyvalent; prevalent; prevail; Reynold; Ronald; valediction; valence; Valerie; valetudinarian; valiance; valiant; valid; valor; value; Vladimir; Walter; wield.

It might also be the source of: Latin valere "be strong, be well, be worth;" Old Church Slavonic vlasti "to rule over;" Lithuanian valdyti "to have power;" Celtic *walos- "ruler," Old Irish flaith "dominion," Welsh gallu "to be able;" Old English wealdan "to rule," Old High German -walt, -wald "power" (in personal names), Old Norse valdr "ruler."

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    predominate
    1590s, "to have or exert controlling power," from Medieval Latin praedominatus, past participle of *praedominare from Latin prae "before" (see pre-) + dominari "to rule, dominate, to govern," from dominus "lord, master," from domus "house" (from PIE root *dem- "house, household")
    dominate
    1610s, "to rule over, control by mastery," a back-formation from domination or else from Latin dominatus, past participle of dominari "to rule, dominate, to govern," from dominus "lord, master," from domus "house" (from PIE root *dem- "house, household"). Meaning "have chief infl
    rule
    c. 1200, "principle or maxim governing conduct, formula to which conduct must be conformed" from Old French riule, Norman reule "rule, custom, (religious) order" (in Modern French partially re-Latinized as règle), from Vulgar Latin *regula, from Latin regula "straight stick, bar,
    evince
    "disprove, confute," from French évincer "disprove, confute," from Latin evincere "conquer, overcome subdue, vanquish, prevail...
    evict
    property) by judicial means," from Latin evictus, past participle of evincere "overcome and expel, conquer, subdue, vanquish; prevail...
    India
    The form India began to prevail again in English from 16c., perhaps under Spanish or Portuguese influence....
    overcome
    Old English ofercuman "to reach, overtake, move or pass over," also "to conquer, prevail over, defeat in combat" (the Devil...
    reverberate
    1570s, "beat back, drive back, force back" (the classical sense, now obsolete), from Latin reverberatus, past participle of reverberare "strike back, repel, cause to rebound" (see reverberation). In reference to sound or noise, "re-echo," from 1590s, on the notion of "bend back,
    urn
    late 14c., "large, rounded vase used to preserve the ashes of the dead," from Latin urna "a jar, vessel of baked clay, water-jar; vessel for the ashes of the dead" (also used as a ballot box and for drawing lots), probably from earlier *urc-na, akin to urceus "pitcher, jug," and
    run
    Old English, "move swiftly by using the legs, go on legs more rapidly than walking," also "make haste, hurry; be active, pursue or follow a course," and, of inanimate things, "to move over a course." The modern verb is a merger of two related Old English words, in both of which t

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