perpetuity

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English perpetuite, also perpetuete,^[2][3][4] partly borrowed from Anglo-Norman perpetuité and Middle French perpetuité, recorded in Anglo-Norman from 1212,^[5][6][7][4] and partly directly borrowed from Latin perpetuitās (“continuity in time or space, permanence”).^[5][6][2] The Latin noun is formed from perpetuus (“lasting, permanent”) with the suffix -tās;^[5][4] in Medieval Latin it also meant a grant in perpetuity or a perpetual benefice, in British sources from about 1215.^[5] Etymonline derives perpetuus from perpes (“lasting”), probably from per (“through”) and the root of petō (“to seek, go to”).^[6] Compare Occitan perpetuitat, Spanish perpetuidad and Italian perpetuità.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the phrase in perpetuity, for all time, for ever: before 1400, in a text printed among the Yorkshire Writers.^[5] Etymonline dates the word to the late 14th century.^[6] The Anglo-Norman word was already used in this phrase from 1212.^[7]

Semantic evolution

Beside the phrase, the word meant the quality of being perpetual, endless duration, from 1455,^[5][2] and a perpetual position, possession or right of ownership, from about 1406, in Hoccleve, a sense now rare.^[5][2] Johnson (1755) defined it as "duration to all futurity", quoting Hooker.^[8] Two technical senses followed: in law, from 1607, a disposition of property that ties it up into the distant future,^[5][9] and in finance, from 1715, a perpetual annuity or bond.^[5][9]

Timeline

• before 1400 – in perpetuity, for all time.^[5]
• c. 1406 – a perpetual position, possession or right.^[5]
• 1455 – the quality of being perpetual; endless duration.^[5][2]
• 1607 – in law, a disposition of property restricting its alienation far into the future.^[5]
• 1715 – in finance, a perpetual annuity or bond.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. Endless time; eternity.^[10][9]
2. The quality or state of being perpetual.^[10][9][5]
3. in perpetuity: for ever, for an indefinitely long period: The land was left to the town in perpetuity.^[9][5][10]
4. (law) A limitation that keeps an estate from being freely disposed of beyond the period the law allows.^[9][10][5]
5. (finance) An annuity or bond with no maturity date, payable indefinitely.^[9][5]
6. (rare) A perpetual position, possession or right of ownership.^[5][11]

Word family

• nonperpetuity

Related words

• perpetual
• perpetuate
• perpetuation

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
4. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ a b c d e f g Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
11. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press