eternal (English)

Where does "eternal" come from?

The word 'eternal' traces its roots back to the Proto-Indo-European *h₂ey-, denoting vital force or a lifetime. This concept evolved through the Latin 'aevum' (age) into 'aeternus,' eventually passing into Old French and Middle English as a way to describe something existing outside the limits of time. It ultimately replaced the native Old English term 'ēċe' to become our standard word for that which lasts forever.

Full etymology tree

eternal (English), 'Lasting forever; unending.'
- inherited eternal (Middle English), 'Eternal, permanent; having existed (and existing) forever.'
  - borrowed eternal (Old French)
  - borrowed aeternālis (Latin), 'eternal, everlasting, temporally infinite'
  - suffix eterne (Middle English), 'Eternal, permanent; having existed (and existing) forever.'
    - inherited eterne (Old French)
      - inherited aeternus (Latin), 'abiding, lasting, permanent, perpetual'
        derived aeviternus (Latin), 'archaic form of aeternus (“eternal, perpetual”)'
        derived aevum (Latin), 'eternity, agelessness, timelessness (time as a single, unified, continuous and limitless entity; infinite time, time without end)'
        inherited *aiwom (Proto-Italic), 'age'
        inherited *h₂eyu- (Proto-Indo-European)
        derived *h₂ey- (Proto-Indo-European), 'vital force, life, age, eternity'
        derived -rnus (Latin), 'suffix forming adjectives'
        inherited *-rinos (Proto-Italic)
        derived *-zinos (Proto-Italic)
  - suffix -al (Middle English), 'Forms adjectives from Latin and Romance vocabulary.'
    - inherited -al (Old French), 'suffix used to form adjectives from nouns'
      - borrowed -ālis (Latin), 'Suffixed to nouns or numerals creating adjectives of relationship.'
        inherited *-ālis (Proto-Italic), 'Forms adjectives of relationship.'

Direct ancestors

Updated June 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris