prevail, prevaile, prevayle

i. [Fr. prévaloir, from Lat. prævaleo =to have great power: præbefore, in exce , and valeo =to be strong; Sp. prevaler; Ital. prev a lere.] 1. To have or gain the superiority or victory; to overcome, to conquer; to have the upper hand or the mastery. "It came to pa that when Moses held up his hand then Israel prevailed , and when he let down his hand Amalek prevailed ." - Exodus xvii. 11. 2. It is followed by against or over, before an object. "David prevailed over the Philistine." -1 Samuel xvii. 50. 3. To be in force; to have effect; to have influence; to extend with power or influence; to obtain. "If such loose principles as I am here confuting prevail."- Water land : Works , ii. 372. 4. To gain influence or predominence; to operate effectually. "Thy grave admonishments prevail with me." Shakesp: King Henry VI ., Pt . I. , ii. 5. prevenient A. Intransitive: I. Ordinary Language: *1. To be in collusion with the party one is nom. inally opposing, and betray the cause one is nominally advocating. 2. To act or speak evasively; to shuffle or quibble in one's answers; not to be straightforward and plain in answering; to shift, to equivocate. "The witne es prevaricated ." -Macaulay: Hist. Eng., ch. v. II. Law : 1. To undertake a thing falsely and deceitfully, with the intention of defeating and destroying the object which it is designed to promote. 2. In the same sense as I. 1. *B. Trans.: To evade by shuffling, quibbling, or paltry excuses; to transgre , to pervert. covenant." Bp. Taylor: sermons, vol. ii., ser.. "When any of us hath prevaricated our part of the