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permaneo

Etymology and origin of the Latin word permaneo

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Cicero
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*men-)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [pɛrˈma.ne.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [perˈmaː.ne.o][1]

Forms

permaneō (present infinitive permanēre, perfect active permānsī, supine permānsum); second conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from per- “through” and maneō “to remain”.[2][1][3] De Vaan traces ⟨maneō⟩ to Proto-Indo-European *mn̥-éh₁- (“to remain”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Cicero.[2] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to stay to the end, remain in a place, as in Cicero; to persist in an opinion or condition; and to remain in existence, last, endure, survive, as in Cicero.[2][6][7]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to remain, continue, endure, abide, persevere.[8] It survives in Italian permanere and Spanish permanecer.[1] Its participle permanēns gave English permanent in the early 15th century.[3]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.[2][5]
  • early 15th century – English permanent is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To stay, remain.[2]
  2. To persist, persevere.[2][6]
  3. To last, endure.[2]

Word family

  • permānsiō
  • permanēns

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Permaneo.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/permaneo. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·