different between steady vs eternal

English

Alternative forms

• steddy, stedy

Etymology

From Middle English stede, stedi, stidi?, from Old English stæþþi?, from stæþ (“stead, bank”); equivalent to stathe +? -y or stead +? -y. Cognate with West Frisian stadich (“slow”), Danish stedig, stadig, steeg, Swedish stadig, Icelandic stöðugur, Middle Dutch stedigh, German stätig, stetig.

Pronunciation

• enPR: st?d?i, IPA^(key): /?st?di/

Adjective

steady (comparative steadier, superlative steadiest)

1. Firm in standing or position; not tottering or shaking; fixed; firm.

   • Their feet steady, their hands diligent, their eyes watchful, and their hearts resolute.

   • Captain Edward Carlisle, soldier as he was, martinet as he was, felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, her alluring smile?; he could not tell what this prisoner might do.

2. Constant in feeling, purpose, or pursuit; not fickle, changeable, or wavering; not easily moved or persuaded to alter a purpose; resolute.
   • 2003, Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices: Inserts Only (page 10)

     During programmed changes, no steady green signal indication or flashing yellow signal indication shall be terminated and immediately followed by a steady red or flashing red signal indication without first displaying the steady yellow signal […]

3. Smooth and not bumpy or with obstructions.

4. Regular and even.

5. Slow.

Synonyms

• (firm): robust, solid, untottering
• (constant in purpose or action): dogged, staunch, unyielding; see also Thesaurus:obstinate
• (smooth, not bumpy): fluid
• (regular and even): constant, uniform, unvarying; see also Thesaurus:steady
• (slow): glacial, ponderous, stately; see also Thesaurus:slow

Antonyms

• (regular and even): unsteady; see also Thesaurus:unsteady

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

steady (third-person singular simple present steadies, present participle steadying, simple past and past participle steadied)

1. (transitive, sometimes figuratively) To stabilize; to prevent from shaking.

   I took a drink to steady my nerves.

2. (intransitive) To become stable.
   • 2010, Scott Westerfeld, Leviathan

     The ship steadied in the air. Another spray of ballast came, heavier than the last.

Translations

Noun

steady (plural steadies)

1. A rest or support, as for the hand, a tool, or a piece of work.
2. (informal) A regular boyfriend or girlfriend.
   • 2002, Frederick E. Von Burg, Keep My White Sneakers, Kit Carson, iUniverse (?ISBN), page 13:

     “Dalton is my steady, now. If I break up with him, you're the first on the list.” “Thanks,” said Ted. “What a privilege to be second choice.”

3. (informal) A prostitute's regular customer.

Adverb

steady (not comparable)

1. (rowing, informal) To row with pressure at a low stroke-rating, often 18 strokes per minute.

Further reading

• steady in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• steady in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• steady at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• stayed

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.