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Chris -- 2018-04-11

#1 2009-02-15 22:48:16

patschwieterman
Administrator
From: California
Registered: 2005-10-25
Posts: 1680

"persway" for "persuade"

Two things seem to be at work here. First, persuasion does involve swaying people over to your own point of you (as we say round these parts). And if you’ve accepted that interpretation, then “persuade” sounds like a past tense – a line of thinking that produces the back formation “persway” as the infinitive. Some instances of this may be phonetic misspellings – e.g. the last few examples below. Examples:

Thirdly it had an impact on the Greek people, example Pericles in Athens was an important figure in Greek architecture because he per-swayed the public to build these major building projects out of their taxes.
http://www.planetpapers.com/Assets/5331.php

Its up to us to persway people into the light.
http://saviorsofearth.ning.com/group/in … meachother

Maybe someone can persway me into liking it a little
http://www.car-forums.com/talk/showthread.php?t=2166

Antony did an excellent job of perswaying the crowd and moving them to mutiny, which was his original purpose.
http://www.kryptonsite.com/forums/archi … 32479.html

Net-It Software has changed its name to Allegis as part of its strategy to perswayed customers to think about enterprise resource planning (ERP) differently.
https://www.thedacs.com/techs/abstract/233734

Oh, and the citizenship classes we were given at school managed to perswayed me that voting was a waste of paper
http://uk2005.notapathetic.com//

Only a moron can be perswayeded to harm some one based on watching it and no one is that dumb.
http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/ge … hy-10.html

He’s trying to perswayed me to go along with him in things that I feel are sinfull in the eyes of The Almighty.
http://www.talkjesus.com/bible-study-ha … saiah.html

Ixionwastaken beat me to the general idea. Here’s his post on “disway” that I had forgotten about: http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/viewtopic.php?id=316

Last edited by patschwieterman (2009-02-16 02:46:00)

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#2 2009-02-15 22:55:05

DavidTuggy
Eggcornista
From: Mexico
Registered: 2007-10-11
Posts: 2752
Website

Re: "persway" for "persuade"

Lovely!


*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .

(Possible Corollary: it is, and we are .)

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#3 2009-02-16 01:28:00

jorkel
Eggcornista
Registered: 2006-08-08
Posts: 1456

Re: "persway" for "persuade"

Yes, very nicely done. It’s hard to believe we’ve overlooked this one for so long.

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#4 2009-02-17 14:22:36

JonW719
Eggcornista
From: Colorado
Registered: 2007-09-05
Posts: 285

Re: "persway" for "persuade"

I’m perswayed…

I think what makes this one “lovely,” as someone said, is that it has a time-honored, olde-world quality about it, perhaps akin to some other words that are used but have that archaic feel to them, such as forswear, peradventure, perchance, perforce, etc.

Last edited by JonW719 (2009-02-17 14:30:05)


Feeling quite combobulated.

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#5 2009-02-17 21:35:35

patschwieterman
Administrator
From: California
Registered: 2005-10-25
Posts: 1680

Re: "persway" for "persuade"

JonW wrote:

it has a time-honored, olde-world quality about it, perhaps akin to some other words that are used but have that archaic feel to them, such as forswear, peradventure, perchance, perforce, etc.

I hadn’t thought about it, but I think your comment does a good job of capturing the “feel” of this. And in fact, it WAS a 17th century word, though it had a different meaning. The OED lists “persway” as an “obsolete, rare” word meaning “to lessen or diminish.” The only citation given is from Ben Jonson’s play Bartholomew Fair:

JONSON Bartholmew Fayre II. vi. 39 in Wks. II, The creeping venome of which subtill serpent,..neither the cutting of the perrillous plant [sc. tobacco], nor the drying of it, nor the lighting, or burning, can any way perssway or, asswage.

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#6 2009-02-18 04:31:09

DavidTuggy
Eggcornista
From: Mexico
Registered: 2007-10-11
Posts: 2752
Website

Re: "persway" for "persuade"

Yes, add “asswage” (or assuage as it is usually spelt nowadays) to that list. You’re right on, John.


*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .

(Possible Corollary: it is, and we are .)

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