Per`se*cu"tion (?), n. [F. pers'ecution, L. persecutio.]
1.
The act or practice of persecuting; especially, the infliction of loss, pain, or death for adherence to a particular creed or mode of worship.
Persecution produces no sincere conviction.
Paley.
2.
The state or condition of being persecuted.
Locke.
3.
A carrying on; prosecution.
[Obs.]
© Webster 1913.