pursuit

pursuit

English

Alternative forms

• poursuit (obsolete)
• pursuite (obsolete)

Etymology

Old French poursuite, from the verb porsuir (“to pursue”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pəˈsjuːt/, /pɜːˈsjuːt/, /pəˈʃuːt/, /pɜːˈʃuːt/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /pɝˈsuːt/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /pəˈʃʉːt/, /pəˈsʉːt/
• Rhymes: -uːt

Noun

pursuit (countable and uncountable, plural pursuits)

1. The act of pursuing.

   Unremitting pursuit of wealth doesn't bring happiness, particularly if successful.

   • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 2, in A Cuckoo in the Nest‎:

     Mother […] considered that the exclusiveness of Peter's circle was due not to its distinction, but to the fact that it was an inner Babylon of prodigality and whoredom, from which every Kensingtonian held aloof, except on the conventional tip-and-run excursions in pursuit of shopping, tea and theatres.

   • 2011 September 27, Alistair Magowan, “Bayern Munich 2-0 Man City”, in BBC Sport:

     Not only were Jupp Heynckes' team pacey in attack but they were relentless in their pursuit of the ball once they had lost it, and as the game wore on they merely increased their dominance as City wilted in the Allianz Arena.

2. A hobby or recreational activity, done regularly.
3. (cycle racing) A discipline in track cycling where two opposing teams start on opposite sides of the track and try to catch their opponents.
4. (law, obsolete) prosecution
   • 1655, Thomas Fuller, James Nichols, editor, The Church History of Britain, […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), new edition, London: […] [James Nichols] for Thomas Tegg and Son, […], published 1837, OCLC 913056315:

     That pursuit for tithes ought, and of ancient time did pertain to the spiritual court.

Synonyms

• (hobby): See also Thesaurus:hobby

Derived terms

• curve of pursuit, pursuit curve
• individual pursuit
• in pursuit
• pursuit plane
• team pursuit

 

Related terms

• pursue

Translations

act of pursuing

Armenian: հետապնդում (hy) (hetapndum), հալածանք (hy) (halacankʿ) Belarusian: перасле́д m (pjerasljéd), даго́н m (dahón), паго́ня f (pahónja) Breton: please add this translation if you can Bulgarian: преследване (bg) n (presledvane), гонитба (bg) f (gonitba) Catalan: perseguiment (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 追求 (zh) (zhuīqiú) Czech: snažení n, snaha (cs) f, úsilí (cs) n, honba (za čím) f Danish: forfølgelse c Dutch: achtervolging (nl) f Esperanto: klopodo, klopodado French: poursuite (fr) f Galician: busca f, procura (gl) f German: Verfolgung (de) f Hungarian: törekvés (hu), űzés (hu) Indonesian: mengejar (id) Irish: tóir f Italian: ricerca (it) f, perseguimento (it) m, caccia (it) f Japanese: 追求 (ja) (ついきゅう, tsuikyū) Khmer: ការតាមរក (kaa taam rɔɔk) Korean: 추구 (ko) (chugu) Mirandese: please add this translation if you can Polish: pościg (pl) m Portuguese: perseguição (pt) f Romanian: vânătoare (ro) Russian: пресле́дование (ru) n (preslédovanije), пого́ня (ru) f (pogónja) Spanish: persecución (es) Swedish: förföljande (sv) n Ukrainian: переслі́дування n (pereslíduvannja), здогі́н m (zdohín), пого́ня f (pohónja), гони́тва f (honýtva)

hobby or recreational activity

Bulgarian: занимание (bg) n (zanimanie) Czech: záliba (cs) f, zájmy (cs) m pl Greek: επιδίωξη (el) m (epidíoxi), καταδίωξη (el) m (katadíoxi), επιχείρηση (el) (epicheírisi) Ancient: ἐπιτήδευμα n (epitḗdeuma) Hungarian: tevékenység (hu), elfoglaltság (hu) Italian: passatempo (it) m Khmer: ការខិតខំប្រឹងប្រែង (kaa kʰət kʰɑm prəy praeŋ) Maori: umanga, mahi tākaro Russian: заня́тие (ru) n (zanjátije) Turkish: uğraş (tr), meşgale (tr) Ukrainian: заня́ття n (zanjáttja)

Further reading

• pursuit on Wikipedia.Wikipedia