sempiternal

WOTD – 5 September 2008    

English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin sempiternālis, from Latin sempiternus, a contraction of semperæternus, from semper (“always”) + æternus (“eternal”). Possibly via French sempiternel.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˌsɛm.pɪˈtəː.nəl/
• (US) IPA: /ˌsɛm.pɪˈtɝ.nəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(r)nəl

Adjective

sempiternal (not comparable)

1. Seemingly everlasting or eternal.
   • 1841, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays: First Series, "Circles",

     The one thing which we seek with insatiable desire is […] to lose our sempiternal memory and to do something without knowing how or why; in short to draw a new circle.

   • 2008, Shivangi Singh, "A sneak-peek at 'just friends' of filmdom!", ZeeNews, August 2,

     […] but in filmdom, the sempiternal question continues: Can a male and female actor be just 'good friends'?

2. (philosophy) everlasting, that is having infinite temporal duration; as opposed to eternal, outside time and thus lacking temporal duration

Related terms

• sempitern
• sempiternally
• sempiternity

Antonyms

• eternal

Translations

seemingly everlasting or eternal

• Finnish: ikiaikainen (fi)

• French: sempiternel (fr)

Anagrams

• intersample
• planimeters