What does perpetuus mean in Latin?

perpetuus, a adjective, means “perpetual, everlasting, continuous, uninterrupted, constant, incessant, unbroken; ablative of time: a duration of time, an entirety, all throughout”.

How do you pronounce perpetuus?

In classical Latin, [pɛrˈpɛ.tu.ʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [perˈpɛː.tu.us].

Which English words come from perpetuus?

English words that go back to Latin perpetuus include perpetual, perpetuate and perpetuity.

perpetuus, perpetua, perpetuum — meaning & declension

Meaning

adjectiveperpetual, everlasting, continuous, uninterrupted, constant, incessant, unbroken
[…] dī, coeptīs (nam vōs mūtāstis et illa) adspīrāte meīs prīmāque ab orīgine mundīO gods, favor my undertakings (for you have changed them too), and lead my uninterrupted song down from the first origin of the world to my times!8 CE, Ovidius, Metamorphoses 1.2–4
ablativeadjectiveablative of time: a duration of time, an entirety, all throughout
“[...] sōlāne perpetuā maerēns carpēre iuventā, [...].” “… [will you] waste away alone, sorrowful all throughout your youth, …?” (carpēre = carpēris)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.32

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quī semper manet, sine fīne.

perpetuus -a -um — in Mille Verba, Tempus et Numerī

sine fīne

unbroken, perpetual

perpetuus -a -um — in De Bello Gallico I, ch. 17

continuus, sine fīne

perpetuus -a -um — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 1

lasting

perpetuus — in Seneca, ch. III

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

singular
form	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	perpetuus	perpetua	perpetuum
genitive	perpetuī	perpetuae	perpetuī
dative	perpetuō	perpetuae	perpetuō
accusative	perpetuum	perpetuam	perpetuum
ablative	perpetuō	perpetuā	perpetuō
vocative	perpetue	perpetua	perpetuum

plural
form	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	perpetuī	perpetuae	perpetua
genitive	perpetuōrum	perpetuārum	perpetuōrum
dative	perpetuīs	perpetuīs	perpetuīs
accusative	perpetuōs	perpetuās	perpetua
ablative	perpetuīs	perpetuīs	perpetuīs
vocative	perpetuī	perpetuae	perpetua

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

in perpetuum: for ever.
oratio perpetua: a continuous discourse.
ut semel or in perpetuum dicam: to say once for all.
perpetuum fenus (Att. 5. 21. 13): simple interests.
sumptus perpetui (Off. 2. 12. 42): current expenses.
quaestiones perpetuae (Brut. 27. 106): the standing commissions of inquiry.

per-pĕtŭus, a, um, adj. (

I. comp. perpetuior, Cato ap. Prisc. p. 601 P.; sup. perpetuissimus, id. ib.) [peto], continuing throughout, continuous, unbroken, uninterrupted; constant, universal, general, entire, whole, perpetual (syn.: continuus, assiduus): sulcos perpetuos ducere, Cato, R. R. 33: quin aedes totae perpetuae ruant, Plaut. Most. 1, 2, 67: agmen, Cic. Pis. 22, 51: munitiones, Caes. B. C. 3, 44: palus, id. B. G. 7, 26: milites disposuit perpetuis vigiliisque stationibusque, id. B. C. 1, 21: perpetuis soliti patres considere mensis, Verg. A. 7, 176: vescitur Aeneas ... perpetui tergo bovis, id. ib. 8, 182: Apenninus perpetuis jugis ab Alpibus tendens ad Siculum fretum, Plin. 3, 5, 7, § 48: tractus, id. 6, 20, 23, § 73: oratio perpetua (opp. altercatio), Cic. Att. 1, 16, 8; cf. Liv. 4, 6: disputatio, Cic. de Or. 2, 4, 16; id. Top. 26, 97: quaestiones perpetuae hoc adulescente constitutae sunt, a standing commission, a permanent tribunal for criminal investigation, id. Brut. 27, 105: perpetua historia, a continuous or general history, id. Fam. 5, 12, 2: colere te usque perpetuom diem, Plaut. Most. 3, 2, 78: diem perpetuum in laetitiā degere, this whole day, Ter. Ad. 4, 1, 5: triduum, id. ib. 4, 1, 4: biennium, id. Hec. 1, 2, 12: ignis Vestae perpetuus ac sempiternus, Cic. Cat. 4, 9, 18: lex perpetua et aeterna, id. N. D. 1, 15, 40: stellarum perennes cursus atque perpetui, id. ib. 2, 21, 55. stabilis et perpetua permansio, id. Inv. 2, 54, 164: voluntas mea perpetua et constans in rem publicam, id. Phil. 13, 6, 13: formido, Verg. E. 4, 14: assidua et perpetua cura, Cic. Fam. 6, 13, 2: perpetui scrinia Sili, of the immortal Silius, Mart. 6, 64, 10.—As subst.: perpĕtŭum, i, n., the abiding, permanent (opp. temporale), Lact. 2, 8, 68.—Hence: in perpetuum (sc. tempus), for all time, forever, in perpetuity, constantly: mulier repperit odium ocius Suā inmunditiā, quam in perpetuom ut placeat munditia sua. Plaut. Stich. 5, 5, 6: serva tibi in perpetuom amicum me, id. Capt. 2, 3, 81: in perpetuum comprimi, Cic. Cat. 1, 12, 30; id. Agr. 2, 21, 55: obtinere aliquid in perpetuum, id. Rosc. Am. 48, 139: non in perpetuum irascetur, Vulg. Psa. 102, 9 et saep.—So, in perpetuum modum = perpetuo, Plaut. Most. 3, 1, 5.—

II. In partic.

A. That holds constantly and universally, universal, general: perpetui juris et universi generis quaestio, Cic. de Or. 2, 33, 141: nec arbitror perpetuum quicquam in hoc praecipi posse, Plin. 17, 2, 2, § 19: ne id quidem perpetuum est, does not always hold good, Cels. 2, 10: illud in quo quasi certamen est controversiae ... id ita dici placet, ut traducatur ad perpetuam quaestionem, to a general principle, Cic. Or. 36, 126.—

B. In augury: perpetua fulmina, perpetual lighlnings, i. e. whose prognostics refer to one's whole life, Sen. Q. N. 2, 47, 1.—

C. In gram.: perpetuus modus, the infinitive mood, Diom. p. 331 P. —Hence, adv., in three forms, perpetuo (class.), perpetuum (poet.), and perpetue (late Lat.).

1. perpĕtŭō, constantly, uninterruptedly, perpetually, always, forever, utterly, hopelessly: perpetuon' valuisti? Plaut. Ep. 1, 1, 15: metuo ne technae meae perpetuo perierint, id. Most. 3, 1, 23: dico ut perpetuo pereas, id. Pers. 2, 4, 10; so, perpetuo perire, Ter. Eun. 5, 8, 13: opinionem retinere, Cic. Agr. 3, 1, 2: loquens, id. Ac. 2, 19, 63: sub imperio esse, Caes. B. G. 1, 31; Ov. M. 10, 97.—

2. perpĕtŭum, constantly, uninterruptedly, perpetually: uti, Stat. S. 1, 1, 99.—

3. perpĕtŭē, constantly, Cassiod. in Psa. 62, 4.

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *per-der. Proto-Italic *peri- Latin per- Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- Proto-Indo-European *péth₂eti Latin petō Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Italic *-wos Latin -uus Latin perpetuus From per- + petō + -uus. Compare perpes.

Descendants

Catalanperpetu
Frenchperpétuel
Italianperpetuo
Portugueseperpétuo
Romanianperpetuu
Spanishperpetuo
Galicianperpetuo

In English words that came into English from perpetuus

perpetualperpetuālis
perpetuateperpetuātus
perpetuityperpetuitās