Convince, persuade

Latin convincere to refute, convict, prove, from com- + vincere to conquer —cognate “victor.”

Latin persuadēre, from per- thoroughly + suadēre to advise, urge — cognate, “sweet.” 

Convince, persuade, those words marched

In tandem for long years, but in our time

They've separated. (When did you last use

persuade??) Ever since Dubya 1's regime,

It's been convince, convince, convince

All the livelong day: prove, refute, convict!

No more sweet urging's gentle groove;

Our ways became the victor's: zero-sum.

Try to employ persuade more often, then,

And deflect convince from its fateful run!

Note: Etymologies from Merriam Webster, which observes, inter alia: “the live in livelong derives from lef, a Middle English word meaning ‘dear or beloved.’” Word trajectories from Google's Ngram Viewer, https://ngrams.org/ngram-viewer.html.

Tuesday, September 9, 2025