Apedia

Perpetuity Period Land Forever Set December Noun Per Puh Too Uh Tee

Perpetuity means eternity or the state of continuing forever. It is often used in the phrase 'in perpetuity' to mean forever or for an unlimited time.

Perpetuity (noun) refers to eternity or the quality of continuing forever. The term has specific legal uses, denoting arrangements that last indefinitely or forever.

Word perpetuity
Date December 18, 2015
Type noun
Syllables per-puh-TOO-uh-tee
Etymology Continual existence—that elusive concept has made perpetuity a favorite term of philosophers and poets for centuries. The word derives ultimately from the Latin adjective perpetuus ("continual" or "uninterrupted"), which is also the source of our perpetual and perpetuate. It frequently occurs in the phrase "in perpetuity," which essentially means "forever" or "for an indefinitely long period of time." Perpetuity also has some specific uses in law. It can refer to an arrangement in a will rendering land forever inalienable (or at least, for a period longer than is set by rules against such arrangements) or to an annuity that is payable forever.
Examples The terms of the benefactor's will calls for the formation of a trust intended to fund the library for perpetuity.

"Afterwards these animals were reintroduced to the project area, and migratory corridors were created between solar fields to allow antelope and elk to pass unimpeded. As an added measure … 12,000 acres of nearby land were set aside for conservation in perpetuity." — Philip Warburg, The New York Times, 3 Nov. 2015
Definition 1 : eternity
2 : the quality or state of continuing forever

Tags: wordoftheday::noun

Learn with these flashcards. Click next, previous, or up to navigate to more flashcards for this subject.

Next card: Competent competently ˈkɒmpɪtənt standard good adj-graded 能被表示程度的副词或介词词组修饰的形容词 feel

Previous card: Hidebound skin people figurative usage december adjective hyde-bound

Up to card list: Word of the Day