perpetuity
/ˌpɝpəˈtuːɪti/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.90 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
5
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The quality or state of being perpetual; endless duration; uninterrupted existence.
Uncountable
noun
A limitation intended to be unalterable and of indefinite duration; a disposition of property which attempts to make it inalienable beyond certain limits fixed or conceived as being fixed by the general law.
Countable
Example Sentences
- "Mr. Waller adds that when the railway was authorised in 1897, one of the clauses of the Act authorising the transfer of the line to the North British Railway provided that that company should work it in perpetuity, and it was this clause that caused the interim interdict to be granted."
- "The gnomic belief that the world is conditioned by love is no idle apothegm. Love, as the instrument of creative agencies and cosmic perpetuity, is no banausic conception."
Etymology
From Middle English perpetuitee, perpetuite, perpetuyte, from Old French perpetüité, ultimately from Latin perpetuitās.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: perpetuitee, perpetüité, perpetuitās
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌpɝpəˈtuːɪti/
- British English: /ˌpɜː(ɹ)pɪˈtjuːɪti/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
in perpetuity
Perpetuity in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
Frequently Paired Words
Perpetuity in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)