everlastingadj.n.adv.
/ˌɛvəˈlɑːstɪŋ/, /ˌɛvəˈlastɪŋ/, U.S. /ˌɛvərˈlæstɪŋ/ A. adj.
1.
a. Lasting for ever; infinite in future duration; endless; = eternal adj. 3.everlasting bonfire: see bonfire n. 3. everlasting death: see death n. 3a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > eternity or infinite duration > [adjective]
echec825
echelichc825
endlessc888
lastinga1225
everlastingc1225
perdurablec1275
perpetuala1325
unendeda1325
incorruptiblea1340
ay-lastingc1340
inlastingc1340
eternec1366
interminablec1374
unstanchablec1374
ever-duringa1382
eternalc1386
sempitern1390
never-failinga1400
sempiternal14..
ever-being?a1425
ever-durable?a1425
immarcescible?a1475
perennal?c1500
deathless1547
everlastable1548
incessant1557
unperishing1561
undeterminable1581
evera1586
unendlya1586
inexterminable1592
never-ending?1592
aeviternal1596
dateless1597
undecaying1599
entombless1601
perishless1605
ageless1609
continual1610
perpetuous1612
imperible1614
ne'er-endinga1616
out-date1623
undated1624
perennious1628
immortal1630
imperishable1648
birthless1651
fadeless1652
sempiternous1653
evergreen1655
intemporal1656
indefectible1659
inconclusible1660
unending1661
aeonian1664
unfading1665
sempervirent1668
amaranthal1674
ne'er-dying1693
perennial1717
timeless1742
indefeatablea1754
amaranthine1782
aeonial1800
unterminating1821
unevanescent1827
ay1845
forever1879
sempervirid1909
c1225 (?c1200) St. Margaret (Royal) (1934) 53 (MED) Margarete..wende..to blissen buten wa, euer-lestinde.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 189 Guoþ ye acorsede in-to þe greate uere eurelestinde ine helle.
c1390 in C. Horstmann Minor Poems Vernon MS (1892) i. 251 Heoren is þe Ioye euerlastonde Wiþ god and wiþ godus sonde.
a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial Suppl. (Claud.) (1905) 295 (MED) Þe dor tyneth on hym for euermore, and so eurelasting farewel..worthe hym and hys werkys!
1500 T. Betson Ryght Profytable Treatyse sig. aiij I trowe in ye..forgyuenes of synnes ayen rysynge of flesshe, & euerlastynge lyf.
1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour iv. 5145 in Wks. (1931) I Thay depart from cair and cummer..Tyll Ioy and euirlestand lyfe.
1649 R. Baxter Saints Everlasting Rest (new ed.) iv. xiv. 807 Why, in Heaven I shall have an everlasting Holyday of Pleasure.
1668 J. Denham Poems 155 What a trifle is a moment's Breath, Laid in the Scale with everlasting Death!
1758 S. Hayward Seventeen Serm. i. 2 We are in danger of falling into everlasting misery.
1781 W. Cowper Truth 41 Too busy..to wait On the sad theme, their everlasting state.
1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus ii. ix. 69/2 Love not Pleasure; love God. This is the Everlasting Yea.
1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Leila i. v. 37 I would all the gold of earth were sunk into the everlasting pit!
1911 J. Masefield (title) Everlasting mercy.
1978 J. Updike Coup (1979) ii. 76 His soul has gone to everlasting fire!
2000 M. Nelson in A. Hastings et al. Oxf. Compan. Christian Thought 212/2 According to Christians, ultimate happiness is everlasting life with God.
b. Implying past as well as future eternity: infinite in past and future duration; that always has existed and always will exist; = eternal adj. 1.In most examples this sense is contextually implied by reference to God or supernatural beings; but cf. from everlasting at Phrases 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > eternity or infinite duration > [adjective] > in past and future duration or transcending time
everlasting1340
eternec1366
eternal1488
eterminablea1528
timeless1574
supertemporal1837
morrowless1844
dayless1848
supratemporal1860
a-temporal1862
dateless1894
transhistorical1909
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 104 He [sc. God] one is eurelestinde, wyþoute beginnynge and wyþ-oute ende.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xxi. 33 Abraham..inwardly clepide..þe name of þe euerlastyng [L. aeterni] god.
?a1425 tr. Catherine of Siena Orcherd of Syon (Harl.) (1966) 180 (MED) I made hem for þe worschip and praisynge of me, euerlastynge fadir, and þat þei schulden be partetakers of my fairnesse.
1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) l. 1721 (MED) O souerayne euerelastynge maieste..Vp-on me rew, for thy nobylhede!
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Gen. xxi. D And Abraham..called vpon the name of the Lorde ye euerlastinge God.
1578 Gude & Godlie Ball. (1868) 127 Thow onlie Maker of all thing, Thou euerlastand licht.
1611 Bible (King James) Isa. ix. 6 The mightie God, The euerlasting Father. View more context for this quotation
1674 N. Fairfax Treat. Bulk & Selvedge 38 There being nothing but everlasting God..there can be no such thing as Time, or fore, or aft, at all.
1788 W. Huntington Free Thoughts in Captivity 50 Neither the self-begetter nor the freethinker will ever be able to palm one child of the flesh upon the everlasting Father.
1852 T. T. Lynch Orthodoxy in Lett. to Scattered (1872) 270 To be orthoprax, reader, is to do aright according to the commandment of the everlasting God, as to be orthodox is to think aright.
1890 F. E. H. W. Krichauff in Proc. Royal Geogr. Soc. Australasia 1886–7 S. Austral. Branch 2 35 All of them, the good supernatural beings, they call also ‘altgiva’... The word ‘altgiva’ signifies that these had an everlasting existence.
1933 A. N. Whitehead Adventures of Ideas xiii. 209 The everlasting nature of God, which in a sense is non-temporal and in another sense temporal.
2011 Africa News (Nexis) 17 Oct. There is neither king nor subject; neither royal nor commoner, all equal before the one everlasting God.
2. Used hyperbolically or in a relative sense.
a. Lasting for a very long time; existing from long ago or into the distant future. Cf. eternal adj. 4.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > [adjective] > long-lasting or enduring
longeOE
longsomeeOE
long of lifeOE
lastinga1225
cleaving1340
continualc1340
dwellingc1380
long-livinga1382
everlastingc1384
long-duringa1387
long-lasting?a1400
long-liveda1400
broadc1400
permanable?c1422
perseverant?a1425
permanentc1425
perdurable?a1439
continuedc1440
abiding1448
unremoved1455
eternalc1460
long-continued1464
continuing1526
long-enduring1527
enduring1532
immortal1538
diuturn?1541
veterated1547
resiant?1567
stayinga1568
well-wearinga1568
substantive1575
pertinacious1578
extant1581
ceaseless1590
marble1596
of length1597
longeval1598
diuturnal1599
nine-lived1600
chronic1601
unexhausted1602
chronical1604
endurable1607
continuant1610
indeflourishing1610
aged1611
indurant1611
continuatea1616
perennious1628
seculara1631
undiscontinueda1631
continuated1632
untransitory1632
long-spun1633
momently1641
stative1643
outliving1645
constant1653
long-descended1660
voluminousa1661
perduring1664
perdurant1671
livelong1673
perennial1676
longeve1678
consequential1681
unquenched1703
lifelong1746
momentary1755
inveterate1780
stabile1797
persistent1826
unpassing1831
all-time1846
year-long1846
teak-built1847
lengthful1855
long-term1867
long haul1873
sticky1879
week-to-week1879
perenduring1883
long-range1885
longish1889
long-time1902
long run1904
long-life1915
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Ezek. xxxv. 9 I shal bytake thee into wildernessis euerlastynge [L. solitudines sempiternas].
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 1520 Ȝyf þou bryng a man yn fame, Þat he haue euer lastyng shame.
a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 136 To make thair rewardes euerlastynge in their heyres.
?1533 G. Du Wes Introductorie for to lerne Frenche sig. Siv To..Henry..kyng..of all Englande..be laude euerlastyng, honour without ende.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 146v Ye worship might haue Whyth a lose euerlastond when your lyff endis.
1628 T. Hobbes tr. Thucydides Peloponnesian War (1822) 13 It [this history] is compiled rather for an everlasting possession than to be rehearsed for a prize.
1659 W. Prynne True & Perfect Narr. Old & Newly Forcibly Late Secluded Members 16 A fifth sort cry it up, as a most necessary, heroick, rational, zealous Action, deserving everlasting honor, prayse.
1734 A. Pope Ess. Man: Epist. IV 274 See Cromwell, damn'd to everlasting Fame!
1800 J. Anderson Recreations in Agric. II. 190 The bold idea of erecting a large building, constructed entirely of that everlasting material, as they would naturally supposed marble would be.
1832 E. Bulwer-Lytton Eugene Aram I. i. x. 162 The rivulet..descends from the everlasting mountains.
1839 T. De Quincey Lake Reminiscences in Tait's Edinb. Mag. July 455/2 These mighty gates of everlasting rock.
1874 Hotten's Slang Dict. (rev. ed.) 156 The barefooted children about Seven Dials..are said to wear everlasting shoes and stockings.
1882 M. E. Braddon Mt. Royal I. iii. 79 It is the most everlasting kind of beauty, is it not?
1937 Sci. News-let. 6 Oct. 216/3 A monkey whose home is in the mountains of central Asia, just below the line of everlasting snow.
2017 Chico (Calif.) Enterprise-Record (Nexis) 17 Feb. a a 7 As a young girl, to my everlasting regret, I was taken out of a math class and put into a sewing class, because ‘girls don't need math’.
b. Constant, perpetual, unceasing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > continuing > [adjective] > continuous or without stop or pause (of action)
ithanda1300
continualc1340
unstintingc1380
perpetuala1382
unfailinga1382
unceasing1382
everlastinga1398
restless?a1439
continuedc1440
running1492
incessant1532
uncessant1548
incessable1552
universal1561
never-ceasing1567
still1570
unpausing1585
ceaseless1590
uncessable1596
indesinent1601
uninterrupted1602
unceasable1604
Sabbathless1605
unceased1605
unintermissive1610
unstaying1616
constant1653
jugial1654
uninterrupted1657
stopless1660
uncheque1671
chronical1672
unarrested1733
well-sustained1743
uninterrupt1776
unsuspended1792
sustained1796
pauseless1820
unhalting1832
persistent1842
unresting1856
unbreaking1870
non-stop1915
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. xxxviii. 1184 Bitwen elephantes and dragouns is euerlastynge [L. perpetua] fightynge.
1579 T. Twyne tr. Petrarch Phisicke against Fortune ii. Ep. Ded. 161 a What euerlasting warre haue old men with old age & sicknesses when death draweth nigh?
1647 C. Harvey Schola Cordis Concl. 7 Self-knowledge is an everlasting taske.
1688 S. Penton Guardian's Instr. 28 What..were the Occasions of the present great Contempt of Matrimony..The everlasting Din of Mother-in-law.
1716 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 30 Aug. (1965) I. 257 The Foundation of these everlasting Disputes turns entirely upon place.
1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World ii. 99 It is never dark here, you are now come to the Country of Everlasting Day.
1801 R. Southey Thalaba I. v. 290 From Ait's bitumen lake That heavy cloud ascends; That everlasting roar From where its gushing springs Boil their black billows up.
1837 E. Bulwer-Lytton Ernest Maltravers I. i. i. 5 On which there hung an everlasting frown.
1910 Current Lit. Feb. 183/1 The everlasting war between authoritarianism and libertarianism, between orthodoxy and heresy.
1987 P. Wright & P. Greengrass Spycatcher xv. 213 The everlasting game of inter-Secret Service rivalry.
2016 Johns Hopkins News-Let. (Nexis) 17 Nov. (Arts–Entertaiment) 1 He doesn't solve the everlasting conflict between the modern and the traditional through this short, 10-track project.
c. With the implication of weariness or disgust: interminable, endlessly recurring; = eternal adj. 4b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > feeling of weariness or tedium > [adjective] > wearisome or tedious > tediously long
elengec897
longOE
longsomea1400
infinite1585
long-winded1645
mortal1758
everlasting1761
longful1777
eternal1787
1761 G. Colman Jealous Wife ii. iii. 37 Heaven knows when I shall get rid of Them, for They are both everlasting Gossips.
1795 tr. J.-M. Roland de La Platière Appeal to Impartial Posterity ii. 87 An everlasting harangue-maker, who tired him to death.
1837 H. Hallam Introd. Lit. Europe I. i. 47 The tedious descriptions of spring, and the everlasting nightingale.
1894 Mrs. Alden in Chicago Advance 27 Dec. 448/3 If you two girls would stop your everlasting puttering over paint and embroidery, and do something.
1933 E. Ferber They brought their Women 55 She was bored with the everlasting dinners..and the velvet house gowns.
1987 W. Percy Thanatos Syndrome (1988) xiv. 262 I couldn't stand my father's fecklessness and his everlasting talk about the loftier things in life.
2001 S. Paretsky Total Recall (2002) xxiii. 227 I sat in a stationary lane at one of the everlasting tollbooths on the rim road around the city.
d. U.S. regional. As an intensifier: = eternal adj. 7. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [adjective] > oaths other than religious or obscene
confounded1652
buggering1784
everlasting1834
condemned1841
ever-loving1912
1834 W. A. Caruthers Kentuckian in N.Y. I. 62 What an everlastin pity 'tis, these critters elbows ain't as suple as their heels.
1848 J. R. Lowell Biglow Papers 1st Ser. ii. 18 The everlastin' cus he stuck his one-pronged pitchfork in me.
1893 S. Crane Maggie i. 10 Stop yer jawin', er I'll lam the everlasting head off yehs.
1916 H. Mearns Richard Richard xviii. 318 De on'y thing dat breaks yo' back is killin' dem consarned, evahlastin' bugs.
1940 R. L. Bellem in T. Goodstone Pulps (1970) 117/2 He blooped that sedan up to seventy from a standing start; kicked the everlasting tripes out of it.
1942 W. L. McAtee Rural Dial. Grant County, Indiana, in 'Nineties 25 Everlasting, euphemism for an emphatic swear word; ‘You everlastin' idiot.’
1991 D. Harington Choiring of Trees 74 If he tries any funny stuff you beat the everlastin sh—horse hockey out of him.
3. Frequently in the names of plants.
a. Of a plant or part of a plant: perennial. Now rare.pease everlasting: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > by age or cycles > [adjective] > perennial
perennal?c1500
everlasting1578
perennial1669
vivacious1682
rhizocarpic1829
rhizocarpous1832
perpetual1837
perennating1888
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball i. xxxi. 44 The roote is threddy..and is euer-lasting, putting forth yearely new springs.
1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 417 Telephium sempervirum or virens;..the stalkes and leaues of this indure also the sharpnesse of winter, and therefore we may call it in English Orpin euerlasting.
1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum ii. v. 1062 Lathyrus sylvestris flore luteo. Tare everlasting. This ramping wilde Vetch or Tare..is the most pernicious herbe that can grow on the earth.
a1678 T. Hanmer Garden Bk. (1933) 86 Everlasting Lupine..came not long since first hither from Virginia.
1781 S. Fullmer Young Gardener's Best Compan. 164 The perennials or everlasting plants..are considerably more numerous than the biennials.
1854 A. O'Keeffe Broken Sword 89 Gigantic vases, bearing everlasting shrubs, mingled with growing evergreens of great height.
1894 Woman's Signal 22 Mar. 199/4 (advt.) Everlasting sunflowers.—Give sheaves of golden flowers, grand in garden and for cutting; flourish everywhere, increase yearly.
1939 Union S. Afr. Debates House of Assembly 35 6103 In the Amatolas 36,000 acres of valuable mountain grazing has been ruined by an everlasting plant which has taken hold of that area.
1976 Jrnl. Calif. Anthropol. 3 21/1 ‘Basket sedges’ are ‘everlasting plants’ (perennial), with grass-like triangular stems.
2017 Guardian (Warrington) (Nexis) 27 May Celebrate the life of someone you love this summer by dedicating an everlasting sunflower to them.
b. Of a plant: having flowers that keep their shape and colour when dried. Cf. everlasting flower n. at Compounds, life-everlasting n.
ΚΠ
1761 J. Hill Veg. Syst. III. 137 Everlasting cudweed..Gnaphalium margaritaceum... The Flowers are very beautiful: the Florets themselves are minute and yellow; the Cups are silvery, white, and glossy.
1877 Newcastle Courant 6 July 3/3 The brilliant pink rodhanthes..were perfectly flowered, and fully demonstrated the importance of this specimen of everlasting plants for green-house and indoor decorations.
1988 B. Olson & J. Lazzara Country Flower Drying ii. 47 Immortelle (Xeranthemum). An everlasting herb of the daisy family, this plant grows 2 to 3 feet in height.
2007 Countryman (W. Austral.) (Nexis) 26 July 3 No chemicals..could be used to control the weeds once the everlasting plants were growing.
4. Of fabric, or a garment or footwear: indefinitely durable, very slow to wear out. Sometimes in figurative contexts or with a play on sense A. 1a. Cf. sense B. 3, and lasting n.5 Compounds. N.E.D. (1891) takes quots. 1607 and a1616 as possibly showing a noun sense (otherwise unattested) in attributive use, and says that it denotes a material used in the 16th and 17th centuries for the uniforms of sergeants and catchpoles, apparently identical with durance n. Quot. a1616 apparently identifies the material of the ‘everlasting garment’ with buff, but it is not clear whether this means buff leather or some woollen substitute for it.See also everlasting trimming n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > other
smalleOE
lightc1230
round1402
side-necked1430
wanton1489
Spanish1530
tucked1530
lustya1555
civil1582
open-breasted1598
full1601
everlasting1607
sheeten1611
nothinga1616
burly1651
pin-up1677
slouching1691
double-breasted1701
negligée1718
translated1727
uniform1746
undress1777
single-breasted1796
unworn1798
mamalone1799
costumic1801
safeguard1822
Tom and Jerry1830
lightweight1837
fancy dress1844
wrap-1845
hen-skin1846
Mary Stuart1846
well-cut1849
mousquetaire1851
empire1852
costumary1853
solid1859
spring weight1869
Henri II1870
western1881
hard-boiled1882
man-of-war1883
Henley1886
demi-season1890
Gretchen1890
toreador1892
crossover1893
French cut1896
drifty1897
boxy1898
Buster Brown1902
Romney1903
modistic1907
Peter Pan1908
classic1909
Fauntleroy1911
baby doll1912
flared1928
flare1929
tuck-in1929
unpressed1932
Edwardian1934
swingy1937
topless1937
wraparound1937
dressed-down1939
cover-up1942
Sun Yat-sen1942
utility1942
non-utility1948
sudsable1951
off-the-shoulder1953
peasant1953
flareless1954
A-line1955
matador1955
stretch1956
wash-and-wear1959
layered1962
Tom Jones1964
Carnaby Street1965
Action Man1966
Mao-style1967
wear-dated1968
thermal1970
bondage1980
swaggery1980
hoochie1990
mitumba1990
kinderwhore1994
1607 F. Beaumont Woman Hater iv. ii. sig. G2v Were't not for my smooth, soft, silken Citizen, I would quit this transitorie trade, get mee an euerlasting robe, seare vp my conscience, and turne Serieant.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) iv. ii. 33 Adr. Where is thy Master Dromio? S. Dro. A diuell in an euerlasting garment hath him..a fellow all in buffe. View more context for this quotation
1661 T. St. Serfe Variety News for All Pallats 4 If any one now in the Dogg dayes eat immoderately of the black tailed Pouts that are catched in the Cannongate, it is probable he may purchase a pair of everlasting Breeches though possibly the Fancies of them chance to prove expensive.
1684 E. L. Prodigal Return'd Home 16 For where can one pick a hole in the everlasting coat of universal Tradition?
1751 Proc. King’s Comm. Peace 250/1 In one of the boxes there were womens black everlasting shoes, ribbons and other things.
1763 in Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. (1913) XLIX. 142 Had on..either a pair of black Everlasting Breeches, or Cloth colour'd Leather ones.
1776 N.Y. Gaz. & Weekly Mercury 15 Jan. in Documents Revolutionary Hist. New Jersey (1901) I. 17 Two white linen vests, a red cloth and a blue cloth vest, two pair of leather breeches, a pair of red everlasting breeches, two pair of mixed blue and white stockings.
1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan II. xix. 170 An Irish female friend, whose gold buckles, and high-heeled everlasting shoes, were made in the city of London.
1849 E. E. Napier Excursions Southern Afr. II. 418 Antigropelos boots, and everlasting corduroy breeches.
2015 S.-R. Marzel in S.-R. Marzel & G. D. Stiebel Dress & Ideology Introd. 4 The Communist choice of everlasting clothes can be understood as a will to be a clothing-society instead of a fashion-society.
B. n.
1. With the. That which is everlasting; spec. God, the Eternal. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > [noun] > as everlasting
everlastinga1382
the Eternal1582
ever-living1601
the Eterne1613
the Interminable1671
ever-present1838
timeless1892
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Prov. viii. 23 Of the euere lastende [a1425 L.V. fro with out bigynnyng, 1611 King James from everlasting; L. ab æterno] I am ordeyned..er the erthe shulde be maad.
c1390 (c1350) Proprium Sanctorum in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1888) 81 309 (MED) But ȝif ȝe wolde leeue þis wiþ þe euerlastinge, I-wis, ȝe ben ouertake wiþ mis-bileeue, Þat sore aftur wol ȝow greue.
R. Misyn tr. R. Rolle Fire of Love 14 So þe generacion of þe sone with þe euerlastynge of þe godhede vnchaungyngly bydis.
1542 T. Becon Dauids Harpe sig. m.viii Prayse the euerlastynge.
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. vi. 91 And that betwene the Foreeuerlasting and the Euerlasting, Eternitie resteth in the middest.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. ii. 131 O..that the euerlasting had not fixt His cannon gainst seale slaughter.
1753 E. Moore Gamester v. 74 The Everlasting has no Vengeance to torment it deeper.
1811 W. C. Oulton tr. S. Gessner Death Abel ii. 81 But how, or when, the Everlasting will Provide for sinners an atonement meet, The very angels cannot comprehend.
1863 J. G. Murphy Crit. Comm. Genesis (1867) 193 For the Everlasting now shows himself to be the causer or effecter of the covenant blessing promised to Noah.
1948 B. Segale At End of Sante Fe Trail (new ed.) ii. 103 Temporal progress was measured by the Everlasting.
2000 Analecta Husserliana 67 248 Ethical problems are directly linked with the search for the everlasting.
2. Frequently with distinguishing word. Any of various plants, chiefly belonging to the family Asteraceae, having papery flower heads which keep their shape and colour when dried. Also: the flower head of such a plant. Cf. everlasting flower n. at Compounds.life-everlasting, mountain everlasting, mouse-ear everlasting, pearl everlasting, pearly everlasting: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > composite flowers > everlasting or immortelle
yellow amaranth1551
gold-flower1578
mothwort1578
God's flower1597
golden cudweed1597
golden mothwort1597
moth-weed1597
aurelia1598
everlasting flower1610
everlasting1633
helichrysum1664
yellowheads1712
immortal herb1731
xeranthemum1736
eternal flower1785
immortelle1832
strawflower1924
1633 T. Johnson Gerard's Herball (new ed.) ii. 645 This yellow Euerlasting or Floure-Gentle..hath..floures..of a bright yellow colour; which being gathered before they be ripe, do keep their colour and beauty a long time without withering.
1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 311 Everlasting, Gnaphalium.
1785 T. Martyn in tr. J.-J. Rousseau Lett. Elements Bot. xxvi. 390 There are several species both of yellow and white Everlastings.
1810 A. Rees Cycl. (1819) XVI. Gnaphalium..affords plants of the herbaceous and under shrubby kinds: of which the species mostly cultivated are, the tree everlasting (G. arboreum); the red-flowered everlasting (G. ignescens);..the plantain-leaved everlasting (G. plantagineum).
1864 J. Gilbert & G. C. Churchill Excurs. Dolomite Mts. 350 His hat was ornamented with yellow everlastings.
1880 Jackson's Oxf. Jrnl. 2 Oct. 7/3 A fine stand of 36 helichrysums (everlastings) staged by Mr. W. Greenaway, Oxford (highly commended).
1914 Exper. Farms Rep. 1913 306 Helipterum Sandfordi is the least attractive of the ‘Everlastings’.
1948 J. K. Ewers For Heroes to live In 32 They..put glass jars of everlastings and blood-red spider orchids on the long trestle-tables.
1997 B. Hallworth & C. C. Chinnappa Plants of Kananaskis Country 251 Antennaria pulcherrima..showy everlasting, showy pussytoes. Showy everlasting is similar to woolly everlasting, but several differences help to distinguish them.
2001 Independent 20 Jan. (Time Off section) 13/3 Like many everlastings, the flowers were at their best before they opened fully.
3. (a) (In singular and plural) A strong plain woven material; = lasting n.5 (now historical); †(b) = everlasting trimming n. at Compounds (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from wool > [noun] > stout or durable > everlasting
durance1583
everlasting1738
lasting1748
durant1766
1738 J. Munn Observ. Brit. Wool 5 Damasks, Russets, Everlasting, Cantiloons, Worsted Plush..with many other sorts of Plain and Figur'd Stuffs.
1754 S. Carolina Gaz. 1 Jan. 4/2 Check mantuas and Irish stuffs, everlastings, bombazine.
1789 G. Washington Diaries IV. 27 Their Broad-cloths..are good; as are their Coatings, Cassimere, Serges and Everlastings.
1830 D. Booth Analyt. Dict. Eng. Lang. 184 Lasting, or everlasting, is a stout closely-woven worsted stuff, dyed black and other colours, and much used for ladies' shoes.
1837 N. Hawthorne Twice-told Tales (1851) I. ii. 32 They [pantaloons] must have been made of the stuff called ‘everlasting’.
a1845 R. H. Barham Jerry Jarvis's Wig in Ingoldsby Legends (1847) 3rd Ser. 308 A well-worn..jacket, of a stuff by drapers most pseudonymously termed ‘everlasting’.
1901 T. M. James Longmans' Compl. Course Needlework iv. 349 Needlework—i.e. embroidery—may be put on in the same way as ‘everlasting’.
1902 E. Singleton Social N.Y. under Georges v. iii. 222 These delicate and uncomfortable shoes..would be made of satin, figured silk, damask, calimanco, russell, or everlasting.
2012 S. White Wild Frenchmen & Frenchified Indians i. 62 In 1729, Ensign and storekeeper Terrisse de Ternan noted that green everlasting (wool) was selling briskly, and there was demand for stockings, women's shoes, and ribbon.
C. adv.† 1. For ever, throughout eternity; = everlastingly adv. 1b. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > eternity or infinite duration > [adverb]
always fortha700
alwayeOE
oeOE
everOE
buten endea1000
echelichec1175
till doomsdayc1175
to timea1200
perdurablyc1275
in ayea1300
without endc1330
anytimea1375
for ay and oc1374
continually1382
perpetuallyc1385
ay-forthc1390
everlastinglyc1390
perpetualc1392
eternallyc1393
endlessa1400
in (also for, to) perpetuitya1400
always?c1425
without timec1425
endlesslya1450
sempiternlyc1450
infinitivec1470
aylastinglyc1475
everlastingc1475
incessantly1481
in saecula saeculorum1481
sempiternally1509
all days1533
for altogether1542
constantly1567
interminate?1567
incorruptibly1579
perpetuously1612
in perpetuum1613
eternal1614
unterminably1631
unfadinglya1672
unendingly1674
for a constancy1710
perennially1729
tarnally1790
imperishably1795
indefectibly1837
immortally1858
fadelessly1861
c1475 (c1445) R. Pecock Donet (1921) 14 (MED) Forto lyue in body and soule to gedir euerlastyng.
1483 tr. Adam of Eynsham Reuelation xxvii Some of hem contynued in euyll..and now they be euerlasting dampde.
1692 J. Washington tr. J. Milton Def. People Eng. x. 220 This everlasting talkative Advocate of the King.
2. Chiefly U.S. regional. As an intensifier: very, exceedingly, excessively; = everlastingly adv. 2c. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > extremely or exceedingly
swithlyc888
micklelyeOE
swith971
hardOE
un-i-fohOE
sevenfoldlOE
unmeet?c1225
innerlyc1330
horribly1340
too1340
sore1474
horriblec1475
vehemently1483
outrageous1487
done?a1513
exquisite1529
strangely1532
exceeding1535
exceedingly1535
angardlyc1540
angerlyc1540
choicec1540
vengeable1542
vengeably?1550
extremelya1554
monstrous1569
thrice1579
amain1587
extremea1591
damnably1598
fellc1600
tyrannically1602
exquisitely1603
damnedly1607
preciously1607
damnablea1616
impensively1620
excellingly1621
main1632
fearful1634
vengeancelya1640
upsy1650
impensely1657
twadding1657
vastly1664
hideous1667
mainly1670
consumed1707
consumedly1707
outrageously1749
damned1757
nation1771
shockingly1777
deuced1779
darn1789
darned1807
felly1807
varsal1814
awful1816
awfy1816
frightfully1816
deucedly1819
dogged1819
awfully1820
gallowsa1823
shocking1831
tremendously1832
everlasting1833
terribly1833
fearfully1835
ripping1838
poison1840
thundering1853
frighteninglyc1854
raring1854
hell's own1863
goldarned1866
goddamned1870
doggone1871
acutely1872
whooping1874
stupidly1878
everlastingly1879
hideously1882
densely1883
storming1883
good and1885
thunderingly1885
crazy1887
tremendous1887
madly1888
goldarn1892
howling1895
murderously1916
rasted1919
goddam1921
bitchingly1923
Christly1923
bitching1929
falling-down1930
lousy1932
appallingly1937
stratospherically1941
Christ almighty1945
effing1945
focking1956
dagnab1961
drop-dead1980
hella1987
totes2006
1833 S. Smith Life & Writings Major Jack Downing xlvii. 166 I had rather fight forty New Orleans battles than to govern this everlasting great country one year.
1845 S. Smith May-day in N.Y. i. 30 There's two sorts of folks in this city; and it's such an everlastin' great concern.
1848 J. R. Lowell Lett. I. 136 It's everlasting hot to-day.
1903 K. D. Wiggin Rebecca Sunnybrook Farm 262 She'd kick the ladder from out under her, everlastin' quick.
1921 A. Brown One Act Plays (1922) 217 If 't wa'n't so everlastin' cold, I'd take him right into the front room an' blaze a fire.
1923 E. Gepp Essex Dial. Dict. (ed. 2) 44 ‘Everlast'n old he is, and blind’ was said hyperbolically of an ancient gaffer.
1968 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1991) II. 316/2 Everlasting, Qu[estion] LL37. To make a statement as strong as you can: ‘I could have wrung her neck, I was so —— mad’.
Phrases
P1. for everlasting: for all future time, in perpetuity. Formerly also †into everlasting (obsolete). Now poetic and rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [adverb] > for all future time or in perpetuity
evermoeeOE
evermorec1225
foreverc1275
for (also unto) evermore1348
for everlastinga1382
forever and a day1533
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1969) Isa. xxv. 8 He shal stumble doun deþ in to euer-lasting [L. in sempiternum], & don awei shal þe lord god eche tere fro alle face.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 4188 Þai wille him lede in-to fer lande to be þair bonde for euer-lastande.
?1530 tr. J. Colet Serm. Conuocacion Paulis sig. Avjv The storme of darkenes is reserued for euerlastynge.
1670 J. Swan Speculum Mundi (ed. 4) iii. §1. 17 The world..was not for everlasting, but took beginning.
1765 C. Smart tr. Psalms David lxxii. 65/2 He shall live for everlasting, High above all empire rais'd.
1828 K. H. Digby Broad Stone of Honour: Tancredus ii. 7 It [chivalry] is now enlisted in the cause of truth and goodness..to reign for everlasting.
1870 C. Dickens Edwin Drood xxii. 173 The everlasting green garden seemed to be left for everlasting, unregainable and far away.
1941 L. Binyon North Star & other Poems 33 The temple built to endure for everlasting.
P2.
a. from everlasting: from all eternity (cf. sense A. 1b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > eternity or infinite duration > [adverb] > from all eternity
from everlastinga1475
a1475 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Cambr. Gg.1.16) (1997) iii. liii. 124 Goode Ihesu... Whenne shal I be with þe in thi reaume þat þou haste ordeyned to thi welbyloved fro everlastinge [a1500 Trin. Dublin from euerlastynge; L. ab aeterno].
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms xcii [xciii]. 2 From that tyme forth hath thy seate bene prepared, thou art from euerlastinge.
a1600 R. Hooker in Wks. (1845) I. 625 We are in God through..the love which is born towards us, from everlasting.
a1651 N. Culverwell Schisme 165 in Elegant Disc. Light of Nature (1652) A Being that is spann'd by time, cannot reach to what was done from everlasting.
1719 I. Watts Psalms of David 229 From everlasting thou art God To endless years the same.
1818 P. B. Shelley Homer's Hymn to Earth 1 O universal Mother, who dost keep From everlasting thy foundations deep!
1873 J. A. Symonds Stud. Greek Poets x. 317 Love and beauty have belonged to men from everlasting.
a1930 R. Bridges Poet. Wks. (1936) 430 And from everlasting his heart is fixt with affections.
1993 Internat. Jrnl. Philos. Relig. 34 21 Thomas Aquinas..believed that there is nothing incoherent in supposing that the universe is contingent, that it has existed from everlasting, and that God is its Creator.
b. from everlasting to everlasting: throughout all eternity. [Originally after biblical Hebrew phrases with ʿōlām age, aeon, long duration (see discussion at world n. Phrases 2), e.g. min hā-ʿōlām ʿaḏ hā-ʿōlām, min hā-ʿōlām ʿaḏ hā-ʿōlām, both lit. ‘from age to age’.]
ΚΠ
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Chrons. xvii. D Praysed be the LORDE God of Israel from euerlastinge to euerlastinge [Heb. min hā-ʿōlām ʿaḏ hā-ʿōlām].
1611 Bible (King James) Psalms xc. 2 Euen from euerlasting to euerlasting [Heb. mē-ʿōlām ʿaḏ-ʿōlām] thou art God. View more context for this quotation
1667 H. More Divine Dialogues i. §15 The whole evolution of..ages, from everlasting to everlasting, is..represented to God at once.
1715 D. Defoe Family Instructor I. i. i. 21 You will learn that God is from the Beginning, and to the End; from Everlasting to Everlasting.
1846 R. Philip Eternal xiii. 385 The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting.
1887 R. Tudor & J. L. Tudor Philos. Church Life II. iv. ix. 627 He is the mystical Head of the race from everlasting to everlasting.
1949 ‘G. Orwell’ Nineteen Eighty-four i. 37 Whatever was true now was true from everlasting to everlasting.
2015 Times Higher Educ. Suppl. (Nexis) 1 Oct. The universe, although expanding, had existed in the same state from everlasting to everlasting.
Compounds
everlasting daisy n. any of various daisies, esp. of the genus Helichrysum, having flowers that retain their shape and colour when dried and have dry, papery bracts resembling petals.Cf. everlasting flower n.
ΚΠ
1836 T. J. Ouseley Port-Feuille in Vision Death's Destr. (ed. 2) 197 Say, hast thou ever seen a flower, That blooms for ever, and whose power Withstands death's touch? [Note] The Everlasting Daisy.
1871 A. D. Pollard Scand. Ring I. xx. 245 There were some pink everlasting daisies in a white vase.., and Robert took one of the dry flowers and put it into his pocket-book.
1962 Austral. Women's Weekly 19 Dec. 73 (caption) Everlasting daisy, or acroclinium, comes in a brilliant range of shades..and makes a gay display all through the warm months.
2013 Biodiversity & Conservation 22 3031 Among the Asteraceae some genera had several species threatened by tourism and recreation including..three species of everlasting daisy (Helichrysum).
everlasting flower n. any of various plants, chiefly belonging to the family Asteraceae, having papery flower heads which keep their shape and colour when dried; the flower head of such a plant. [Compare French immortelle immortelle n.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > composite flowers > everlasting or immortelle
yellow amaranth1551
gold-flower1578
mothwort1578
God's flower1597
golden cudweed1597
golden mothwort1597
moth-weed1597
aurelia1598
everlasting flower1610
everlasting1633
helichrysum1664
yellowheads1712
immortal herb1731
xeranthemum1736
eternal flower1785
immortelle1832
strawflower1924
1610 T. Stoughton Dignitie Gods Children xxvi. 306 A kind of flowre, which will neuer wither (like to that amongst vs which is called semper viuens, or the euerlasting flowre, because it being gathered and kept in the house, euer without water..it retaineth the beauty it had at the time of gathering.
1790 Coll. Voy. round World II. i. 391 The everlasting-flower..when it is plucked it cannot be perceived to fade.
1867 M. Arnold Heine's Grave in New Poems 195 Crisp everlasting-flowers, Yellow and black, on the graves.
1913 Indiana (Pa.) Weekly Messenger 12 July Globe, rhodanthe and helichrysum are three good everlasting flowers to plant.
2012 Amer. Biol. Teacher 74 55/1 As we drove along we would see thousands of everlasting flowers growing wild.
everlasting grass n. (originally) common sainfoin, Onobrychis viciifolia; (in later use more widely) any of various perennial grasses.
ΚΠ
1677 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Oxford-shire 154 Commonly called Sainctfoin or Everlasting grass.
1727 R. Bradley Compl. Body Husbandry viii. 158 The ever, or everlasting grass, by some called rey-grass, and rye-grass will grow in ponds and watery places.
1893 Cornishman 21 Sept. 4/5 The alter-rails..were charmingly ornamented with a trellis-work of passion-flower leaves and ivy, topped by knots of white dahlias, everlasting grass, corn, &c.
1903 Exper. Station Rec. 1902–3 (U.S. Dept. Agric.) 14 138 The seeds..of wild timothy, cotton top, Canadian rye, and everlasting grass can be utilized to good advantage for permanent pasture purposes.
2012 R. B. Shaw Guide to Texas Grasses 521 Eriochloa punctata..(Louisiana cupgrass, everlasting grass). Rhizomatous perennial.
everlasting pea n. (also everlasting pease) any of various perennial pea plants; spec. Lathyrus latifolius, which has pink or white flowers and is frequently cultivated as a garden plant.Also called pease-everlasting.narrow-leaved everlasting pea: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > pea flowers
everlasting pea1599
sweet-scented pea1728
sweet pea1732
painted lady pea1760
pea-flower1824
pride of California1895
1599 H. Buttes Dyets Dry Dinner sig. E8 Pease are either wilde or tame...one kind of them is called euerlasting pease, because their roote neuer dieth: but being once sowne or planted, so continueth for euer, yeelding fruite in due season.
1689 N. Tate et al. tr. A. Cowley Of Plants iv, in 3rd Pt. Wks. 91 Witness the everlasting Pease and Scarlet Bean.
1726 B. Townsend Compl. Seedsman 54 The Everlasting Pea makes a goodly Show in a Garden, during the greatest Part of the Summer.
1844 G. Emerson Johnson's Farmer's Encycl. (new ed.) 1081/2 There are seven indigenous species of vetchling, or everlasting pea.
1959 F. F. Rockwell et al. 10,000 Garden Questions Answered (new ed.) I. iii. 583 What is the best way to plant and care for everlasting peas? If by ‘everlasting’ peas you mean the perennial kind, they rarely need special soil preparation or care.
2015 Guardian (Nexis) 4 July I like the white forms of the everlasting pea (Lathyrus latifolius): this will grow through shrubs or tumble down a windswept bank.
everlasting staircase n. slang (now historical) a prison treadmill; also in extended use.
ΚΠ
1839 H. Brandon Dict. Flash or Cant Lang. in W. A. Miles Poverty, Mendicity & Crime 163/1 Everlasting Staircase, the treadmill.
1845 J. G. Millingen Jack Hornet II. xii. 271 One would as soon be scragged as to be tramping up and down the everlasting staircase.
1899 Cassier's Mag. Apr. 461/1 The muscular propellers, whom we see climbing up the ‘everlasting staircase’ [in an early horseless carriage propelled on the hamster wheel principle].
1903 ‘No. 7’ 25 Years in 17 Prisons vi. 54 This was the only time I was ever required to mount the ‘everlasting staircase’, and I was such an awkward hand at it—there is an art in working the tread-mill—that I got into trouble more than once during that month.
1999 R. Matthews Doing Time ii. 46 Long periods on the ‘everlasting staircase’, as it was known, caused serious physical damage to both men and women.
everlasting trimming n. now rare (in singular and plural) an embroidered edging for underclothing.
ΚΠ
1874 Glasgow Herald 1 Dec. 1/7 30 Boxes Everlasting Trimmings for 6½d.
1878 Daily Constit. (Atlanta, Georgia) 4 July Chemises with corded bands, edged with everlasting trimming, at 75 cents.
1901 T. M. James Longmans' Compl. Course Needlework iv. 349 ‘Everlasting’ trimming is generally hemmed on the wrong side, and the edge of the garment afterwards backstitched to it on the right side.
1912 Alton (Illinois) Evening Tel. 25 Jan. 8/1 (advt.) Everlasting trimming lace, 6 yds. for—10 c.
1944 F. D. Parsons Solomon Shilling xi. 224 It [sc. a nightgown] buttoned up the front close to the throat and had long sleeves, the ‘everlasting’ trimming at neck and wrists was beautifully ironed.
everlasting wear n. now rare capacity for being worn or used for a very long time without wearing out; (hence) an item (esp. fabric or a garment) that can be worn or used for a very long time without wearing out.In quot. 1854 citing an advertisement for combs, in which it may (as speculated in the article) show an error for everlasting ware.
ΚΠ
1854 Punch 14 Oct. 141/2 ‘They are of everlasting wear,’ it [sc. an advertisement] stated.
1871 A. Trollope Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite lix. 151 The fall I have on this evening was Miss Harper's—real Spanish blonde, and everlasting wear.
1876 People's Housekeeper 70 All-wool Scotch plaids for shawls, dresses, and children's frocks are, to use a common expression, ‘everlasting wear’.
1895 Home Notes 6 Apr. 410/1 (advt.) White Scotch Wincey... Washes beautifully, positively unshrinkable cosy & warm..possesses everlasting wear.
1925 Times 9 Nov. 18/6 (advt.) Built for comfort and everlasting wear. Every Chair is sold under our Guarantee.
a1943 R. Hall World iii. in World & Other Unpublished Wks. (2016) 125 Of course, it's everlasting wear, you know, sir.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.adv.c1225