English Online Dictionary. What means forever? What does forever mean?
English
Alternative forms
- for ever (chiefly British)
- fore'er, for e'er (dialect or poetic, otherwise archaic)
- Forever (noun, poetic)
Etymology
Univerbation of for ever, from Middle English for ever, for evere. By surface analysis, for + ever. First attested in the late 14c., and first attested in the late 17c. as one word. Noun first attested in 1858.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /fəˈɹɛvə(ɹ)/
- (General American) IPA(key): /fəˈɹɛvɚ/, [fəˈɹɛvɚ], [fɚˈɛvɚ], [fɔɹˈɛvɚ]
- Rhymes: -ɛvə(ɹ)
Adverb
forever (not comparable)
- (duration) For all time, for all eternity; for a lifetime; for an infinite amount of time.
- (duration, colloquial, hyperbolic) For a very long time, a seeming eternity.
- (frequency) Constantly or frequently.
Usage notes
- In the United Kingdom and most of the Commonwealth, the spelling for ever may be used instead of forever for the senses for all time and for a long time. In Canada and the United States, generally only forever is used, regardless of sense.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
Noun
forever (countable and uncountable, plural forevers)
- (countable, colloquial) An extremely long time.
- (uncountable, colloquial or poetic) A mythical time in the future that will never come.
Translations
Adjective
forever (not comparable)
- (chiefly informal) Permanent, lasting; constant, perpetual.