Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Persist

Persist , intransitive verb

[Latin persistere; per + sistere to stand or be fixed, from stare to stand: compare French persister. See Per-, and Stand.]

To stand firm; to be fixed and unmoved; to stay; to continue steadfastly; especially, to continue fixed in a course of conduct against opposing motives; to persevere; -- sometimes conveying an unfavorable notion, as of doggedness or obstinacy.
If they persist in pointing their batteries against particular persons, no laws of war forbid the making reprisals. — Addison
Some positive, persisting fops we know, Who, if once wrong, will needs be always so. — Pope
That face persists. It floats up; it turns over in my mind. — Mrs. Browning