Etymologically
Log in

permanent

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 23:18. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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
  • 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