LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adverb

semper

semper (not comparable)
Classical[ˈsɛm.pɛr]Ecclesiastical[ˈsɛm.per]
№ 149 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. not comparablealways, ever, forever, at all times, on each occasion, ongoing, constant
    Spero ut pacem semper habeant.I hope that they always have peace.
    [...] et erī semper lēnitās / verēbar quōrsum ēvāderet.… and my master’s constant mildness — I was worried what the end result might turn out to be.166 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Andria 175–176

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

omnī tempore.
semper adv. — in Mille Verba, Tempus et Numerī
always
semper — in Seneca, ch. I

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Semper · Usque

Semper (ἀμπερές) means ‘always’ and ‘ever,’ absolutely, without reference to any definite limit; whereas usque only relatively ‘always,’ within a definite limit, in usque dum, etc.; but by the poets it is used without any additional clause, as in Horace, for example, Sat. i. 9. Usque sequar te (i. 14.)

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

semper memoria eius in (omnium) mentibus haerebit
nothing will ever make me forgetful of him.

semper, adv. root sam-; Gr. ἁμ-; v. semel and -per = παρά; cf. tantisper,
I. ever, always, at all times, forever (cf. usque).
I. In gen.: nequiter factum illud apud vos semper manebit, Cato ap. Gell. 16, 1: locus hic apud nos semper liber est, Plaut. Bacch. 1, 1, 49: semper occant priusquam sarriunt rustici, id. Capt. 3, 5, 5: sat habet favitorum semper, qui recte facit, Plaut. Am. prol. 79: quod improbis semper aliqui scrupus in animis haereat, semper iis ante oculos judicia et supplicia versentur: nullum autem emolumentum esse tantum, semper ut timeas, semper ut adesse, semper ut impendere aliquam poenam putes, Cic. Rep. 3, 16, 26: quod semper movetur, aeternum est, id. ib. 6, 25, 27; id. Tusc. 1, 23, 53: non haerent in suis sedibus, sed volucri semper spe rapiuntur, id. Rep. 2, 4, 7: curavit (Servius Tullius), quod semper in re publicā tenendum est, ne, etc., id. ib. 2, 22, 39; 3, 14, 23 et saep.: sibi exortam semper florentis Homeri Commemorat speciem (the Gr. ἀειθαλής), Lucr. 1, 124: hic vertex nobis semper sublimis, Verg. G. 1, 242; cf.: quod Graeci aigleucos (ἀειγλεῦκος) vocant, hoc est semper mustum, Plin. 14, 9, 11, § 83: avida ulteriorum semper gens (semper belonging to ulter), Liv. 9, 38, 5: si umquam dubitatum est, utrum tribuni plebis vestrā an suā causā seditionum semper auctores fuerint, id. 5, 3 Drak.; for which also, without esse (hence apparently adject.): Hasdrubal pacis semper auctor, id. 30, 42; cf.: adversus Sidicinos sumerent arma, suos semper hostes, id. 8, 1 fin.—To strengthen the signif., joined with cottidie, perenne, assidue, etc. (as in Gr. ἀεὶ καθʼ ἡμέραν, συνεχές, etc.; v. Lidd. and Scott's Lex. under ἀει): ea mihi cottidie Aut ture aut vino aut aliqui semper supplicat, Plaut. Aul. prol. 24; cf. Ter. Ad. 3, 1, 7: lucrum ut perenne vobis semper suppetat, Plaut. Am. prol. 14: ne semper servus currens, iratus senex, etc.... assidue agendi sint mihi, Ter. Heaut. prol. 39; so (with assiduus) Cic. Rosc. Am. 18, 51; Ov. F. 4, 686: ibi semper omne vitae spatium famula fuit, Cat. 63, 90: semper et ubique, Quint. 1, 1, 29; 3, 9, 5; Petr. 99; Suet. Aug. 90; cf. Quint. 11, 1, 14.—
II. Of continuance within a definite time: ego illum antehac hominem semper sum frugi ratus, Plaut. As. 5, 2, 11; cf. id. Aul. 2, 2, 39: quod tempus (aestatem) omnes Siciliae semper praetores in itineribus consumere consuerunt, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 12, § 29: quibus studiis semper fueris, tenemus, Cic. Rep. 1, 23, 37.—
2. Esp., with comp., of a progressive change (poet.): rem Romanam Alterum in lustrum meliusque semper, Proroget aevum, Hor. C. S. 67: candidior semper candidiorque veni, Tib. 1, 7, 64.—
B. Distributively, always, every time, on each occasion (ante-class. and post-Aug.): rex Creo vigiles nocturnos singulos semper locat, Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 195: horresco semper, ubi pultare hasce (fores) occipio miser, always, every time, Ter. Ad. 4, 4, 24: quattuor partus enixa, septumo semper mense, genuit, etc., Plin. 7, 5, 4, § 39: bis inter duos exortus lunae adfluunt bisque remeant vicenis quaternisque semper horis, id. 2, 97, 99, § 212: tertio die cibum capere semper, id. 7, 2, 2, § 12: cibum capere semper diebus tertiis, Gell. 9, 4, 6.—
III. Transf. (poet.), everywhere, in every place (like Engl. always): proque toro terrae non semper gramen habenti, Incubat infelix, Ov. M. 1, 633.

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *sem-der. Latin sem- Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Italic *per Latin per Latin -per Latin semper From sem-per, from Proto-Indo-European *sḗm (“one”), root of Latin semel (“once”) + -per (“throughout”). Analogous to semel + -per. Cognates include Ancient Greek εἷς (heîs) and Sanskrit सकृत् (sa-kṛ́t). Compare singulus. For similar compositions see paulisper, quantisper, tantisper.

Elsewhere
  • Italiansempre
  • Englishsemprefrom Italian sempre
  • Occitansempre
  • Portuguesesemprefrom Old Galician-Portuguese sempre
  • Spanishsiemprefrom Old Spanish sienpre
  • Sardiniansemper
  • Sardiniansèmpere
  • Sardiniansèmpiri
  • Sardiniansempre
  • Englishsemper-
Old Occitan
  • Catalansempre
  • Occitansempre
Old Navarro-Aragonese
  • Aragonesesiempre
Old Leonese
  • Asturiansiempre
  • Mirandesesiempre

Quick answers

What does semper mean in Latin?
semper, a adverb, means “always, ever, forever, at all times, on each occasion, ongoing, constant”.
How do you pronounce semper?
In classical Latin, [ˈsɛm.pɛr]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈsɛm.per].