adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective
aeternus
aeternus (feminine aeterna, neuter aeternum, adverb aeternō)
Classical[ae̯ˈtɛr.nʊs]Ecclesiastical[eˈtɛr.nus]
№ 734 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- adjectiveabiding, lasting, permanent, perpetual
Non prata viridi laeta facie germinant,/nec adulta leni fluctuat Zephyro seges;/non ulla ramos silva pomiferos habet;/sterilis profundi vastitas squalet soli/et foeda tellus torpet aeterno situ— rerumque maestus finis et mundi ultima.
"No meadows bud, joyous with verdant, / mature waves in the gentle west wind, nor crop; / there is no grove of fruit bearing branches to regard; / barren: and the abysmal fields lie all untilled, / and the foul land lies torpid in abiding sufferance- sad end of things, and the world 's last."Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Hercules Furens - adjectiveendless, eternal
- adjectiveimmortal
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
quī semper erit, sine fīne; flamma aeterna.aeternus -a -um — in Mille Verba, Fūnus et Memoria
sine fīne, perpetuusaeternus -a -um — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 17 and Evangelium secundum Marcum, ch. 15
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Continuus · Perpetuus · Sempiternus · Æternus
1. Continuum means that which hangs together without break or chasm; perpetuum, that which arrives at an end, without breaking off before. Suet Cæs. 76. Continuos consulatus, perpetuam dictaturam. 2. Perpetuus, sempiternus, and æternus, denote continued duration; but perpetuus, relatively, with reference to a definite end, that of life for example; sempiternus and æternus, absolutely, with reference to the end of time in general; sempiternus means, like ἀΐδιος, the everlasting, what lasts as long as time itself, and keeps pace with time; æternum (from ætas) like αἰώνιον, the eternal, that which outlasts all time, and will be measured by ages, for Tempus est pars quædam æternitatis. The sublime thought of that which is without beginning and end, lies only in æternus, not in sempiternus, for the latter word rather suggests the long duration between beginning and end, without noting that eternity has neither beginning nor end. Sempiternus involves the mathematical, æternus the metaphysical notion of eternity. Cic. Orat. ii. 40, 169. Barbarorum est in diem vivere; nostra consilia sempiternum tempus spectare debent; compare with Fin. i. 6, 17. Motum atomorum nullo a principio, sed æterno tempore intelligi convenire. (i. 1.)
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | aeternus | aeterna | aeternum |
| genitive | aeternī | aeternae | aeternī |
| dative | aeternō | aeternae | aeternō |
| accusative | aeternum | aeternam | aeternum |
| ablative | aeternō | aeternā | aeternō |
| vocative | aeterne | aeterna | aeternum |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | aeternī | aeternae | aeterna |
| genitive | aeternōrum | aeternārum | aeternōrum |
| dative | aeternīs | aeternīs | aeternīs |
| accusative | aeternōs | aeternās | aeterna |
| ablative | aeternīs | aeternīs | aeternīs |
| vocative | aeternī | aeternae | aeterna |
aeternus, a, um, adj. contr. from aeviternus, Varr. L. L. 6, § 11 Müll., from aevum, with the termination -ternus as in sempiternus, hesternus,
I. without beginning or end, eternal (sempiternus denotes what is perpetual, what exists as long as time endures, and keeps even pace with it; aeternus, the eternal, that which is raised above all time, and can be measured only by œons (αἰῶνες, indefinite periods);
for Tempus est pars quaedam aeternitatis, Cic. Inv. 1, 27, 39. Thus the sublime thought, without beginning and end, is more vividly suggested by aeternus than by sempiternus, since the former has more direct reference to the long duration of the eternal, which has neither beginning nor end. Sempiternus is rather a mathematical, aeternus a metaphysical, designation of eternity, Doed. Syn. I. p. 3). I. Lit.
A. Of the past and future, eternal:
deus beatus et aeternus, Cic. Fin. 2, 27, 88: nihil quod ortum sit, aeternum esse potest, id. N. D. 1, 8: O Pater, o hominum rerumque aeterna Potestas, Verg. A. 10, 18: di semper fuerunt, nati numquam sunt, siquidem aeterni sunt futuri, Cic. N. D. 1, 32, 90: idem legis perpetuae et aeternae vim Jovem dicit esse, id. ib. 1, 15, 40: nomen Domini Dei aeterni, Vulg. Gen. 21, 33; ib. Rom. 16, 26: aeternum tempus, Lucr. 1, 582: causae immutabiles eaeque aeternae, Cic. Fat. 12, 48. —B. Of the future, everlasting, endless, immortal:
natura animi ... neque nata certe est et aeterna est, Cic. Tusc. 1, 23: virorum bonorum mentes divinae mihi atque aeternae videntur esse, id. Rab. 29: aeternam timuerunt noctem, Verg. G. 1, 468: Quod semper movetur, aeternum est, Cic. Tusc. 1, 23: Quidquid est illud quod sentit ... caeleste et divinum ob eamque rem aeternum sit, necesse est, id. ib. 1, 27: ut habeam vitam aeternam, Vulg. Matt. 19, 16; ib. Joan. 3, 15; ib. Rom. 2, 7: in sanguine testamenti aeterni, ib. Heb. 13, 20: tu Juppiter bonorum inimicos aeternis suppliciis vivos mortuosque mactabis, Cic. Cat. 2, 13: ibunt in supplicium aeternum, Vulg. Matt. 25, 46: aeternas poenas in morte timendumst, Lucr. 1, 111: mitti in ignem aeternum, Vulg. Matt. 18, 8.—C. Of the past:
ex aeterno tempore quaeque Nunc etiam superare necessest corpora rebus, from eternity, Lucr. 1, 578: motum animorum nullo a principio, sed ex aeterno tempore intellegi convenire, Cic. Fin. 1, 6.—D. Spec. of objects of nature, which the ancients regarded as stable and perpetual, everlasting, eternal: aeterna templa caeli, Poët. ap. Varr. L. L. 6, 11, p. 77 Müll.:
aeternam lampada mundi, Lucr. 5, 402: micant aeterni sidera mundi, id. 5, 514: aeterna domus, i. e. caelum, Cic. Rep. 6, 23: donec veniret desiderium collium aeternorum, the everlasting hills, Vulg. Gen. 49, 26; ib. Ps. 75, 5; cf. ib. Ps. 103, 5.—II. Meton., of indef. long time.
A. Of the future, lasting, enduring, everlasting, perpetual:
aeterni parietes, Plin. 35, 14, 49, § 172: dehinc spero aeternam inter nos gratiam fore, Ter. Eun. 5, 2, 33: aeternus luctus, Lucr. 3, 924: dolor, id. 3, 1003: vulnus, id. 2, 369; so Verg. A. 1, 36: aerumna, Cic. Sen. 34: mala, Verg. Cul. 130: bellum, Cic. Cat. 4, 22: dedecus, id. Font. 88: imperium, id. Rab. 33; so Verg. A. 1, 230: versūs, Lucr. 1, 121: ignis sacerdotis, Cic. Font. 47: gloria, id. Cat. 4, 21: laus, id. Planc. 26: memoria, Cic. Verr. 4, 69: non dubitat Lentulum aeternis tenebris vinculisque mandare, id. Cat. 4, 10.—Comic.: spero me ob hunc nuntium aeternum adepturum cibum, Plaut. Capt. 4, 1, 13. Esp. of Rome: aeterna urbs, the Eternal City, Tib. 2, 5, 23; Ov. F. 3, 72; Cod. Th. 10, 16, 1; Symm. Ep. 3, 55; Inscr. Orell. 2, 1140.—Comp.: nec est ulli ligno aeternior natura. Plin. 14, 1, 2, § 9: aeterniora mala, Lact. Epit. 9.—B. Of the past, of yore, of old:
ablue corpus alluvii aeternisque sordibus squalidum, Curt. 4, 1, 22.—III. Adv. phrases.
1. in aeter-num.
A. Lit., forever, everlastingly:
et vivat in aeternum, Vulg. Gen. 3, 22: hoc nomen mihi est in aeternum, ib. Exod. 3, 15: Dominus in aeternum permanet, ib. Psa. 9, 8: vivet in aeternum, ib. Joan. 6, 52: Tu es sacerdos in aeternum, ib. Heb. 5, 6: non habebit remissionem in aeternum, ib. Marc. 3, 29.—B. Meton., of indef. long time, forever, always:
urbs in aeternum condita, Liv. 4, 4: leges in aeternum latae, id. 34, 6: (proverbia) durant in aeternum, Quint. 5, 11, 41: delatores non in praesens tantum, sed in aeternum repressisti, Plin. Pan. 35: (famulos) possidebitis in aeternum, Vulg. Lev. 25, 46: (servus) serviet tibi usque in aeternum, ib. Deut. 15, 17: ut sceleris memoria maneat in aeternum, Lact. 1, 11.—2. aeternum.
A. Lit., forever:
sedet aeternumque sedebit Infelix Theseus, Verg. A. 6, 617: ut aeternum illum reciperes, Vulg. Phil. 15 (prob. here an adv.).—B. Meton., of indef. long time, forever, always:
serviet aeternum, Hor. Ep. 1, 10, 41.—C. Of what is continually repeated, constantly, again and again (as in colloq. Engl., everlastingly, eternally):
glaebaque versis Aeternum frangenda bidentibus, Verg. G. 2, 400: ingens janitor Aeternum latrans (of Cerberus), id. A. 6, 401.—3. aeternō, meton., of indef. long time, forever, perpetually:
viret aeterno hunc fontem igneum contegens fraxinus, Plin. 2, 107, 111, § 240: BVSTA TVTA AETERNO MANEANT, Inscr. Orell. 4517.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
aeternus adj.
for * aeviternus, of an age, lasting, enduring, permanent, endless: inter nos gratia, T.: hostes, L.: sollicitudo, S.: vincula: audaciae monumentum: ignis, the vestal fire.—Of all time, everlasting, eternal, perpetual, immortal: deus: rerum Potestas, V.: mentes: supplicia: ignes, i. e. the heavenly bodies, V.: puer, Bacchus, O.: Te ex aeterno patientem mortis efficere, from immortal make mortal, O.: urbs, i. e. Rome, Tb. —Neut. as subst, perpetuity: urbs in aeternum condita, L. — Adverb.: aeternum salve, forever, V.: vivere, O.: latrans, perpetually, V.: servire, H.: aeterno, O.
Origins
For older aeviternus, from aevum, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- (“long time, lifetime”). Morphologically, equivalent to aetās + -rnus.
Descendants
- Catalanetern
- Englisheterne
- Englishpuella aeterna
- Englishpuer aeternus
- Italianeterno
- Occitanetèrn
- Portugueseeterno
- Romanianetern
- Spanisheterno
- Spanishpuer aeternus
In English words that came into English from aeternus
- eternalaeternālis
- eternityaeternitās
- aeviternityaeviternus
- sempiternalsempiternus