means The act or skill of getting someone to believe or do something through reasoning, appeal, or charm rather than force.

from From Latin persuadere, a marriage of per- ('thoroughly') and suadere ('to advise, urge') — so to persuade was literally to 'urge thoroughly.' That suadere has a sweet hidden relative: it's connected to suavis, 'sweet, pleasant' (the same root behind 'suave'). The Romans understood the trick perfectly — persuasion isn't shoving, it's a thorough, sweetened nudge. English picked it up through Old French in the medieval period.