'Persecute' is Latin for 'follow through relentlessly' — pursuit that never stops. Same root as 'sequence.'
To subject someone to hostility and ill-treatment, especially because of their ethnicity, religion, or political beliefs; to persistently annoy or harass.
From Old French 'persecuter,' from Latin 'persecūtus,' past participle of 'persequī' (to follow through, pursue relentlessly, to follow to the end), from 'per-' (through, thoroughly, to the very end) + 'sequī' (to follow), from PIE *sekw- (to follow). To persecute is literally 'to follow through relentlessly' — pursuing someone without respite, following them past every boundary they put up. The PIE root *sekw- is one of the most widely attested in the language family: it gave Latin 'sequī' (to follow), 'sequentia' (sequence), 'sector' (one who follows — a subdivider), 'second' (following first), 'consecutive' (following together), Greek 'hepesthai' (to follow), Sanskrit 'sacate' (follows), and Old English 'secg' (man — the follower, the
The trio 'persecute,' 'prosecute,' and 'pursue' all mean 'to follow' with different prefixes: 'per-' (through, relentlessly), 'pro-' (forward, officially), and 'pur-' (a French reduction of 'pro-'). The prefixes created the moral distinctions: prosecution is lawful pursuit, persecution is unjust pursuit, and pursuit is neutral following. All three trace to the same PIE root *sekw-.