perpetuitas

Forms

perpetuitās f (genitive perpetuitātis); third declension^[1] The spelling perpetuetas appears on a coin of 378–383, and coins abbreviate the word.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin perpetuus (“continuous, permanent”) + -tās.^[3][1][2] De Vaan lists perpetuus, like perpes (“continuous”), among the words formed from petō (“to make for, seek”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler records it first in Cicero,^[5] who speaks of the uninterrupted continuance of someone's goodwill and of an unbroken run of words in a speech.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

It is the quality of being unbroken: in space, an unbroken stretch, as in Vitruvius' opācae perpetuitātēs of tracts of land;^[3][6] in time, uninterrupted duration;^[3] and in speech, its connected flow.^[3][6] Cicero says that philosophers should be judged by their consistency, not by single sayings, and uses ad perpetuitātem, “for ever”.^[6] In medieval charters it stands for the lasting force of a grant, and in the Church for a benefice held for life; philosophical writers used it of the soul's perpetuity.^[7] Ecclesiastical Latin also used it for eternity.^[8] English has perpetuity from the late 14th century, from Old French perpetuité and directly from Latin.^[9]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of continuity in time and in speech.^[3][6][5]
• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses the plural of unbroken tracts of land.^[6][5]
• 378–383 – The spelling perpetuetas on an imperial coin.^[2]
• 1232 – A Chester charter speaks of the “strength of perpetuity” of a written grant.^[7]
• late 14th century – Borrowed into English as perpetuity.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. Continuity in space; an unbroken stretch.^[3][6]
2. Uninterrupted duration; the whole course (of a life, activity).^[3][6]
3. The connected flow of speech or writing.^[3][6]
4. Permanence, perpetuity;^[3][6] ad perpetuitātem, for ever.^[3][6]
5. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Eternity.^[8]
6. (Medieval Latin) A perpetual benefice; a grant in perpetuity.^[7]

Related words

• perpetuus
• perpes
• petō
• English perpetuity

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
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 c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com