perpetualis

Forms

perpetuālis (neuter perpetuāle, adverb perpetuāliter); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin perpetuus + -ālis.^[2][1] Quintilian formed it to render Ancient Greek καθολικός (katholikós), beside ūniversālis.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Quintilian it means valid at all times: he calls the precepts the Greeks name καθολικά universalia vel perpetualia.^[2][3] Inscriptions undated by the OLD use it of a lasting office and of eternal sleep.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Inscriptions use it in the sense of perpetuus: of an office held for life (pontifex perpetualis muneris, a duumvir perpetualis) and on a tomb of eternal sleep.^[2][4] Christian writers used it of eternity, as Isidore of the punishment of the wicked.^[4] Medieval Latin used it for what has a beginning but no end, especially of agreements, donations and possessions held in perpetuity, and for what is eternal.^[5] English perpetual came from Old French and directly from the Latin word.^[6]

Timeline

• 90–93 AD – Quintilian uses it for rules valid at all times.^[2][3]
• mid-14th century – English perpetual is borrowed.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Lasting for ever or indefinitely, permanent, perpetual.^[2][4][5]
2. Valid at all times, universal.^[2][3]
3. (Christian and Medieval Latin) Eternal.^[4][5]

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com