English
aeviternity
Aeviternity comes from Latin aeternus ‘eternal, perpetual’, from Proto-Italic *aiwom ‘period, age’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- ‘long time, lifetime’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eyu-‘long time, lifetime’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*aiwom‘period, age’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaevum‘eternity, agelessness, timelessness’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaeternusas aeviternus‘eternal, perpetual’
- Englishearliest quotation 1651aeviternity
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eyu-‘long time, lifetime’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*aiwom‘period, age’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaevum‘eternity, agelessness, timelessness’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaeternusas aeviternus‘eternal, perpetual’
- Englishearliest quotation 1651aeviternity
Earliest quotation: 1651, Joseph Hall: “There [in the new heaven] shall we, indissolubly, with…”
The story
Learned borrowing from Latin aeviternus (‘eternal, perpetual’) + English -ity (suffix forming nouns, especially abstract nouns), probably modelled after eternity. Aeviternus is derived from aevum (‘infinite time; eternity, timelessness; undefined long period of time, age, era; generation, lifespan, lifetime; temporal mode of existence between time and eternity’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ey- (‘age; eternity; life, vital force’)) + -rnus (suffix forming adjectives).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- ‘long time, lifetime’
through Proto-Italic *aiwom ‘period, age’
through Latin aevum ‘eternity, agelessness, timelessness’
longevity, eternally, eval, 5 more
through Latin aeternus ‘eternal, perpetual’
Today it means
noun Synonym of eternity (“existence without end”).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- / aeviternity