eternal

eternal

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of eternal in English

English Online Dictionary. What means eternal‎? What does eternal mean?

English

Alternative forms

  • æternal (chiefly archaic)
  • æternall, eternall (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English eternal, from Old French eternal, from Late Latin aeternālis, from Latin aeternus (eternal), from aevum (age). Displaced native Old English ēċe.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɪˈtɜː.nəl/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ɪˈtɝ.nəl/, /iˈtɝ.nəl/
  • Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)nəl
  • Hyphenation: eter‧nal

Adjective

eternal (comparative more eternal, superlative most eternal)

  1. Lasting forever; unending.
    Synonyms: agelong, endless, everlasting, permanent, sempiternal, unending; see also Thesaurus:eternal
    Antonyms: ephemeral, momentary, transient; see also Thesaurus:ephemeral
  2. (philosophy) Existing outside time; as opposed to sempiternal, existing within time but everlastingly.
    Synonyms: timeless, atemporal; see also Thesaurus:timeless
  3. (hyperbolic) Constant; perpetual; ceaseless; ever-present.
  4. (dated) Exceedingly great or bad; used as an intensifier.
    Synonym: awful

Usage notes

May be used postpositively, as in peace eternal, possibly as a result of Latin influence.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

eternal (plural eternals)

  1. One who lives forever; an immortal.

References

Anagrams

  • enteral, teneral

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin aeternālis. First attested in the 14th century.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): (Central, Balearic) [ə.tərˈnal]
  • IPA(key): (Valencian) [e.teɾˈnal]

Adjective

eternal m or f (masculine and feminine plural eternals)

  1. eternal
    Synonym: etern

References

Further reading

  • “eternal” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
  • “eternal” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
  • “eternal” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Galician

Etymology

From Latin aeternālis.

Adjective

eternal m or f (plural eternais)

  1. (formal) eternal
    Synonym: eterno

Further reading

  • “eternal” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

Middle English

Alternative forms

  • eterneel, eternall

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French eternal, eternel, from Latin aeternālis; equivalent to eterne +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɛːtɛrˈnaːl/, /ɛːˈtɛrnal/, /ɛːtɛrˈnɛːl/

Adjective

eternal

  1. Eternal, permanent; having existed (and existing) forever.
  2. Endless, unending; lasting forever.
  3. (rare) Long-lasting; non-ephemeral.

Synonyms

  • eterne

Descendants

  • English: eternal, tarnal
  • Scots: eternal

References

  • “ēternā̆l, -ē̆l, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-01-19.

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin aeternālis.

Pronunciation

Adjective

eternal m (feminine singular eternala, masculine plural eternals, feminine plural eternalas)

  1. eternal
    Synonym: etèrn

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin aeternālis.

Pronunciation

  • Hyphenation: e‧ter‧nal

Adjective

eternal m or f (plural eternais, not comparable)

  1. eternal
    Synonym: eterno

Further reading

  • “eternal” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin aeternālis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /eteɾˈnal/ [e.t̪eɾˈnal]
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Syllabification: e‧ter‧nal

Adjective

eternal m or f (masculine and feminine plural eternales)

  1. eternal
    Synonym: eterno

Further reading

  • “eternal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

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This article based on an article on Wiktionary. The list of authors can be seen in the page history there. The original work has been modified. This article is distributed under the terms of this license.