different between eternal vs eternity

English

Alternative forms

• æternal (chiefly archaic)
• æternall, eternall (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English eternal, from Old French eternal, from Late Latin aetern?lis, from Latin aeternus (“eternal”), from aevum (“age”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /??t?n?l/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??t??n?l/
• Rhymes: -??(?)n?l
• Hyphenation: eter?nal

Adjective

eternal (not comparable)

1. Lasting forever; unending.

   Synonyms: agelong, endless, everlasting, permanent, sempiternal, unending; see also Thesaurus:eternal

   Antonyms: ephemeral, momentary, transient; see also Thesaurus:ephemeral

2. (philosophy) existing outside time; as opposed to sempiternal, existing within time but everlastingly

   Synonyms: timeless, atemporal; see also Thesaurus:timeless

3. (hyperbolic) Constant; perpetual; ceaseless; ever-present.
4. (dated) Exceedingly great or bad; used as an intensifier.

   Synonym: awful

Usage notes

May be used postpositively, as in peace eternal, possibly as a result of Latin influence.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

eternal (plural eternals)

1. One who lives forever; an immortal.

Anagrams

• enteral, teneral

References

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin aetern?lis, attested from the 14th century.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /?.t???nal/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /?.t?r?nal/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /e.te??nal/

Adjective

eternal (masculine and feminine plural eternals)

1. eternal

   Synonym: etern

References

Further reading

• “eternal” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “eternal” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “eternal” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Galician

Etymology

From Latin aetern?lis.

Adjective

eternal m or f (plural eternais)

1. (formal) eternal

   Synonym: eterno

Further reading

• “eternal” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• eterneel, eternall

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French eternal, eternel, from Latin aetern?lis; equivalent to eterne +? -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??t?r?na?l/, /???t?rnal/, /??t?r?n??l/

Adjective

eternal

1. Eternal, permanent; having existed (and existing) forever.
2. Endless, unending; lasting forever.
3. (rare) Long-lasting; non-ephemeral.

Synonyms

• eterne

Descendants

• English: eternal, tarnal
• Scots: eternal

References

• “?tern??l, -??l, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-01-19.

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin aetern?lis.

Adjective

eternal m (feminine singular eternala, masculine plural eternals, feminine plural eternalas)

1. eternal

   Synonym: etèrn

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin aetern?lis.

Adjective

eternal m or f (plural eternais, not comparable)

1. eternal

   Synonym: eterno

Further reading

• “eternal” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin aetern?lis.

Adjective

eternal (plural eternales)

1. eternal

   Synonym: eterno

Further reading

• “eternal” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

English

Alternative forms

• æternity (archaic)
• æternitie (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English eternyte, from Old French eternité, eternitez, from Latin aeternit?s.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /??t??.n?.ti/
• (US) enPR: ?-tûr?n?-t?, IPA^(key): /??t?n?ti/

Noun

eternity (countable and uncountable, plural eternities)

1. (uncountable) Existence without end, infinite time.
2. (uncountable, philosophy) Existence outside of time.
3. (countable) A period of time which extends infinitely far into the future.
4. (metaphysical) The remainder of time that elapses after death.
5. (informal, hyperbolic) A comparatively long time.

Usage notes

• In the sense "a comparatively long time", eternity is always used with the indefinite article (an eternity).
• In philosophy, the common use of eternity to refer to an infinite time is considered incorrect, eternity referring to existence outside of time; existence within time but of an infinite temporal duration is called everlastingness or sempiternity

Synonyms

• (existence outside of time): atemporality, eternal now, extratemporality; see also Thesaurus:timelessness
• (infinite time): all time, perpetuity; see also Thesaurus:eternity
• (time extending infinitely far into the future): evermore, forever, foreverhood
• (remainder of time that elapses after death): afterlife; see also Thesaurus:life after death
• (comparatively long time): an age, ages, centuries, donkey's years, hours, a lifetime, years, yonks; see also Thesaurus:eon

Antonyms

• (existence outside of time): sempiternity

Derived terms

• eternity past
• eternity future

Related terms

• eternal
• eternize

Translations

Anagrams

• entierty, entirety, tenerity