means the quality of stubbornly refusing to change your mind, course, or behavior despite reason, persuasion, or evidence.

from From Latin obstinatus, past participle of obstinare, 'to persist, set one's mind on,' built from ob- ('against, before') plus a root tied to stare, 'to stand' — so an obstinate person is quite literally one who 'stands against.' That stare ('to stand') is a deep Indo-European root and a cousin of words like 'stable,' 'stance,' and 'stubborn-in-spirit,' all of which share the image of being firmly planted. The word entered English through Latin in the late medieval period, carrying the same picture it carries now: someone dug in, heels down, unmovable.