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Eternal

 - 3 dictionary results

e⋅ter⋅nal

  [i-tur-nl]
Use Eternal in a Sentence
–adjective
1. without beginning or end; lasting forever; always existing (opposed to temporal ): eternal life.
2. perpetual; ceaseless; endless: eternal quarreling; eternal chatter.
3. enduring; immutable: eternal principles.
4. Metaphysics. existing outside all relations of time; not subject to change.
–noun
5. something that is eternal.
6. the Eternal, God.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < LL aeternālis, equiv. to aetern(us) (see eterne ) + -ālis -al 1

Related forms:
e⋅ter⋅nal⋅i⋅ty  [ee-tur-nal-i-tee] , e⋅ter⋅nal⋅ness, noun
e⋅ter⋅nal⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. permanent, unending. Eternal, endless, everlasting, perpetual imply lasting or going on without ceasing. That which is eternal is, by its nature, without beginning or end: God, the eternal Father. That which is endless never stops but goes on continuously as if in a circle: an endless succession of years. That which is everlasting will endure through all future time: a promise of everlasting life. Perpeptual implies continuous renewal as far into the future as one can foresee: perpetual strife between nations. 3. timeless, immortal, deathless, undying, imperishable, indestructible.

Antonyms:
1. transitory. 3. mutable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Eternal
e·ter·nal   (ĭ-tûr'nəl)   
adj.  

  1. Being without beginning or end; existing outside of time. See Synonyms at infinite.

  2. Continuing without interruption; perpetual.

  3. Forever true or changeless: eternal truths.

  4. Seemingly endless; interminable. See Synonyms at ageless, continual.

  5. Of or relating to spiritual communion with God, especially in the afterlife.

n.  

  1. Something timeless, uninterrupted, or endless.

  2. Eternal God. Used with the.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin aeternālis, from Latin aeternus; see aiw- in Indo-European roots.]
e'ter·nal'i·ty (ē'tər-nāl'ĭ-tē), e·ter'nal·ness n., e·ter'nal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

eternal 
c.1366 (in variant form eterne), from O.Fr. eternal, from L.L. æternalis, from L. æternus contraction of æviternus "of great age," from ævum "age." Eternity first attested c.1374. In the Mercian hymns, L. æternum is glossed by O.E. ecnisse.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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