perpetuus

See also: Perpetuus

Latin

Etymology

From per- ‎ petō ‎ -uus. Compare perpes.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /perˈpe.tu.us/, [pɛrˈpɛt̪uʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /perˈpe.tu.us/, [perˈpɛːt̪uːs]

Adjective

perpetuus (feminine perpetua, neuter perpetuum, comparative perpetuior, superlative perpetuissimus, adverb perpetuē or perpetuō); first/second-declension adjective

1. perpetual, everlasting, continuous, uninterrupted, constant, incessant, unbroken

   Synonyms: aeternus, perennis, assiduus, continuātus, diuturnus, continuus

   • 8 CE, Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.2–4:

     […] dī, coeptīs (nam vōs mūtāstis et illa)
     adspīrāte meīs prīmāque ab orīgine mundī
     ad mea perpetuum dēdūcite tempora carmen!

     O gods, favor my undertakings (for you have changed them too), and lead my uninterrupted song down from the first origin of the world to my times!

2. ablative of time: a duration of time, an entirety, all throughout
   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.32:

     “[...] sōlāne perpetuā maerēns carpēre iuventā, [...].”

     “[...] [will you] waste away alone, sorrowful all throughout your youth, [...]?”
     (carpēre = carpēris)

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	perpetuus	perpetua	perpetuum		perpetuī	perpetuae	perpetua
genitive	perpetuī	perpetuae	perpetuī		perpetuōrum	perpetuārum	perpetuōrum
dative	perpetuō	perpetuae	perpetuō		perpetuīs
accusative	perpetuum	perpetuam	perpetuum		perpetuōs	perpetuās	perpetua
ablative	perpetuō	perpetuā	perpetuō		perpetuīs
vocative	perpetue	perpetua	perpetuum		perpetuī	perpetuae	perpetua

Derived terms

• ad perpetuam
• ad perpetuum
• ēdictum perpetuum
• in perpetuō
• in perpetuum
• in perpetuum dīcam
• in perpetuum modum
• ōrātiō perpetua
• perpetuae vaccae
• perpetua fulmina
• perpetua historia
• perpetuālis (adjective)
  • perpetuāliter
• perpetuālis (noun)
• perpetuārius
  • perpetuārius colōnus
• perpetuē
• perpetuitās
• perpetuitō
• perpetuō (adverb)
• perpetuō (verb)
  • perpetuābilis
  • perpetuātae vaccae
  • perpetuātiō
• perpetuum
• perpetuum fēnus
• Perpetuus
• perpetuus modus
• quaestiō perpetua
• sūmptūs perpetuī

Descendants

• → Catalan: perpetu
• → French: perpétuel
• → Galician: perpetuo
• → Italian: perpetuo
• → Portuguese: perpétuo
• → Romanian: perpetuu
• → Spanish: perpetuo

References

• “perpĕtŭus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• PERPETUUS in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “perpetuus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • for ever: in perpetuum
    
  • a continuous discourse: oratio perpetua
    
  • current expenses: sumptus perpetui (Off. 2. 12. 42)
    
  • simple interests: perpetuum fenus (Att. 5. 21. 13)
    
  • the standing commissions of inquiry: quaestiones perpetuae (Brut. 27. 106)
    
  • to say once for all: ut semel or in perpetuum dicam
    
• perpĕtŭus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, pages 1,156–1,157.
• “perpetuus” on page 1,351 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)
• perpetuus in Ramminger, Johann (2024 November 27 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[2], pre-publication website, 2005-2016