permanent

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈpɜː.mən.ənt/, US /ˈpɝː.mən.ənt/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French permanent,^[2][3] or directly from Latin permanēns (“remaining”) (stem permanent-),^[4][2][5] present participle of permanēre “to endure, stay to the end”,^[4][2][3] from per “through” and manēre “to remain”,^[4][6] from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to remain”).^[4] It is related to remain and mansion.^[2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Continuing or meant to continue indefinitely: between 1432 and 1450 in the OED, from a translation of Higden's Polychronicon,^[8][2] the early 15th century in Etymonline.^[4] Of persons, steadfast, also from that date.^[8]

Semantic evolution

In botany it is used of parts that persist, from 1785.^[8] The permanent wave in hair is from 1909,^[2][4] shortened to the noun permanent by 1926,^[2] and to perm in the 1920s.^[6] Permanent press, of fabric with lasting creases, is from 1964.^[4] The American Heritage notes that the word, from a language of a world of impermanence, came to be applied to hair waves, ink and press that are not truly permanent.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 1432 – continuing indefinitely.^[8]
• 1785 – in botany.^[8]
• 1909 – permanent wave.^[2][4]
• 1926 – noun, a permanent wave.^[2]
• 1964 – permanent press.^[4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Lasting or meant to last without change; not temporary.
2. Not expected to change in status or place: a permanent job.

Noun

1. A perm, a long-lasting wave set in the hair.

Word family

• permanently
• permanentness
• nonpermanent
• permaculture
• subpermanent
• unpermanent
• impermanent
• semipermanent

Related words

• permafrost
• remain
• mansion
• manor
• perm

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press