sempiternal

adjective

sem·pi·ter·nal ˌsem-pi-ˈtər-nᵊl

: of never-ending duration : eternal

sempiternally adverb

Did you know?

Despite their similarities, sempiternal and eternal come from different roots. Sempiternal is derived from the Late Latin sempiternalis and ultimately from semper, Latin for "always." (You may recognize semper as a key element in the motto of the U.S. Marine Corps: semper fidelis, meaning "always faithful.") Eternal, on the other hand, is derived, by way of Middle French and Middle English, from the Late Latin aeternalis and ultimately from aevum, Latin for "age" or "eternity." Sempiternal is much less common than eternal, but some writers have found it useful. 19th-century American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, for example, wrote, "The one thing which we seek with insatiable desire is to forget ourselves, … to lose our sempiternal memory, and to do something without knowing how or why…."

Examples of sempiternal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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But law, and especially the sempiternal distinction between right and wrong, is never predicated on contracts or consent. —

Daniel J. Mahoney, National Review, 20 June 2019

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin sempiternalis, from Latin sempiternus, from semper ever, always, from sem- one, same (akin to Old Norse samr same) + per through — more at same, for

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of sempiternal was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century