everlasting
/ˌɛvəɹˈlæstɪŋ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.44 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Happening all the time, especially to a tiresome extent; constant, incessant, unending.
Informal
Example Sentences
- "And vvhether vve ſhall meete againe, I knovv not: / Therefore our euerlaſting farevvell take: / For euer, and for euer, farevvell, Caſſius, / If vve do meete againe, vvhy vve ſhall ſmile; / If not, vvhy then this parting vvas vvell made."
- "And I will giue vnto thee, and to thy ſeed after thee, the land wherein thou art a ſtranger, all the land of Canaan, for an euerlaſting poſſeſſion, and I will be their God."
- "VVhy, in Heaven I ſhall have an everlaſting Holyday of Pleaſure."
- "And vvhat a trifle is a moments Breath, / Laid in the Scale vvith everlaſting Death?"
- "I muſt venture: To go back is nothing but death, to go forvvard is fear of death, and life everlaſting beyond it. I vvill yet go forvvard."
- "Philoſophers, vvho darken and put out / Eternal truth by everlaſting doubt, […]"
Etymology
From Middle English ever-lasting (“(adjective) eternal, perpetual; constant; (adverb) eternally; (noun) eternity”), from ever (“at all times, always, constantly; eternally, perpetually; regularly; etc.”) + lasting (“continuing, lasting; eternal; etc.”). * Ever is derived from Old English ǣfre (“ever”), possibly from ā (“always, ever”) + in fēore (“in life”). Ā is from Proto-West Germanic *aiw (“eternity; long time”), from Proto-Germanic *aiwaz (“long time; eternity”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ey- (“life, vital force; long time; eternity”); and fēore is the dative singular of feorh (“life”), from Proto-West Germanic *ferh (“life; kind of tree”), from Proto-Germanic *ferhwą (“body; life; tree”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *perkʷ- (“oak tree”) (as the oak represented life and vitality in Germanic mythology). * Lasting is derived from lasten (“to continue, last; etc.”) + -ing (suffix forming present participle forms of verbs, often used as adjectives)); and lasten from Old English lǣstan (“to follow, pursue; to carry out, perform”), from Proto-West Germanic *laistijan (“to follow, pursue; to carry out, perform”), from Proto-Germanic *laistijaną (“to follow, pursue”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leys- (“to trace, track”). By surface analysis, ever (adverb) + lasting (adjective).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *h₂ey-, ever-lasting, ǣfre, *aiw, *aiwaz, *ferh
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌɛvəɹˈlæstɪŋ/
- British English: /ˌɛvəˈlɑːstɪŋ/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more everlasting (comparative)
most everlasting (superlative)
ever-lasting (alternative)
everlastings (plural)
Derived Forms
Phrases
co-everlasting
everlasting life
everlasting pool
everlasting staircase
everlasting syllabub
everlasting trimming