1786 T. Busby (at cited word) Sempre, (Ital.), always, or throughout: as Sempre piano, soft throughout.
1816 in G. Thomson 139 Judy Lovely Matchless Creature Sempre dolce.
1883 G. Grove III. 461/2 Sempre, ‘always’; a word used in conjunction with some other mark of time or expression to signify that such mark is to remain in force until a new direction appears.
1959 594/1 Sempre, ‘always, still’, as in sempre piano, still softly.
1959 E. Pound xcvii. 29 Earth under Fortuna, each sphere hath its Lord, with ever-shifting change, sempre biasmata.