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Everlasting

//ˌɛvəˈlɑːstɪŋ// adj, adv, noun, slang

Definitions

Adjective

1
Lasting or enduring forever; endless, eternal.
"And vvhether vve ſhall meete againe, I knovv not: / Therefore our euerlaſting farevvell take: / For euer, and for euer, farevvell, Caſſius, / If vve do meete againe, vvhy vve ſhall ſmile; / If not, vvhy then this parting vvas vvell made."
2
Lasting or enduring forever; endless, eternal.; Chiefly of a deity or other supernatural being: having always existed and will continue to exist forever; eternal.
"And Abraham planted trees at Berſeba, and called vpon the name of the LORDE yͤ euerlaſting God, and was a ſtraunger in yͤ londe of the Philiſtynes a longe ſeaſon."
3
Lasting or enduring forever; endless, eternal.; Synonym of sempiternal (“having infinite temporal duration, rather than outside time and thus lacking temporal duration altogether”).
4
Continuing for a long period; eternal. excessive, informal
"this everlasting nonsense"
5
Happening all the time, especially to a tiresome extent; constant, incessant, unending. excessive, informal
"It is never dark here, you are novv come to the Country of Everlaſting Day; VVhat think you? Is not this Eliſium?"

Show 4 more definitions

6
Of clothing or fabric: lasting a long time; very durable or hard-wearing. excessive, informal
"Adr[iana]. VVhere is thy Maſter Dromio? Is he vvell? / S. Dro. [Dromio of Syracuse] No, he's in Tartar limbo, vvorſe than hell: / A diuell in an euerlaſting garment hath him; / On vvhoſe hard heart is button'd vp vvith ſteele: / A Feind, a Fairie, pittileſſe and ruffe: / A VVolfe, nay vvorſe, a fellovv all in buffe: […]"
7
Chiefly in the name of a plant:; Having flowers that retain their colour and form when dried. excessive, informal
8
Chiefly in the name of a plant:; Of a plant or plant part: synonym of perennial (“active throughout the year, or having a life cycle of more than two growing seasons”). excessive, informal
"The roote is threddy, like the roote of the ſecond kinde of Scrophularia, and is euer[-]laſting, putting forth yearely new ſprings, as alſo doth the rootes of the other two Scrophularies."
9
Used as an intensifier. US, archaic, excessive, informal, regional
"The everlastin’ cus he stuck his one-pronged pitchfork in me / An’ made a hole right thru my close ez ef I wuz an in’my."

Adjective

1
without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers wordnet
2
continuing forever or indefinitely wordnet

Adverb

1
Synonym of everlastingly.; Used as an intensifier: extremely, very. US, archaic, informal, regional
"[…] Miranda’s impression, conveyed in privacy to Jane, was that Hannah was close as the bark of a tree, and consid’able selfish too; that when she’d clim’ as fur as she could in the world, she’d kick the ladder out from under her, everlastin’ quick; […]"
2
Synonym of everlastingly.; In an everlasting (adjective adjective sense 1) manner; forever. obsolete
"You your ſelves in the opinion of this everlaſting talkative Advocate of the King, your accuſer, vvent more than half-vvay tovvards it; […]"

Noun

1
Chiefly with a descriptive word: short for everlasting flower (“any of several plants, chiefly of the family Asteraceae (principally the tribe Gnaphalieae), having flowers that retain their colour and form when dried; also, a flower of such a plant”) countable
"This yellovv Euerlaſting or Floure-Gentle, called of the later Herbariſts Yellovv Strœcas, is a plant that hath ſtalkes of a ſpan long, […] The floures ſtand on the tops of the ſtalks, […] of a bright yellovv colour; vvhich being gathered before they be ripe, do keep their colour and beauty a long time vvithout vvithering, […]"
2
any of various plants of various genera of the family Compositae having flowers that can be dried without loss of form or color wordnet
3
Preceded by the: someone or something that lasts forever, or that that has always existed and will continue to exist forever; an eternal, an immortal; specifically (Christianity), God. archaic, countable
"[T]he people of Thebais in Ægipt, reiected all the ſaid abſurdities of many Goddes, ſaying that there was none other God but only he whom they called Cnef [Kneph?], which was neuer borne, nor could euer dye, that is to ſay the Euerlaſting."
4
Synonym of lasting (“(uncountable) a durable, plain, woven fabric formerly used for making clothes and for the uppers of women's shoes; (countable) a quantity of such fabric”). countable, historical, uncountable
"There is a young man, a third-rate coxcomb, whose first care is always to flourish a white handkerchief, and brush the seat of a tight pair of black silk pantaloons, which shine as if varnished. They must have been made of the stuff called ‘everlasting,’ or perhaps of the same piece as Christian’s garments, in the Pilgrim’s Progress, for he put them on two summers ago, and has not yet worn the gloss off."
5
Short for everlasting trimming (“(uncountable) an embroidered edging used on underclothes; (countable) a quantity of such edging”) abbreviation, alt-of, countable, historical, obsolete, uncountable

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English ever-lasting (“(adjective) eternal, perpetual; constant; (adverb) eternally; (noun) eternity”), from ever (“at all times, always, constantly; eternally, perpetually; regularly; etc.”) + lasting (“continuing, lasting; eternal; etc.”). * Ever is derived from Old English ǣfre (“ever”), possibly from ā (“always, ever”) + in fēore (“in life”). Ā is from Proto-West Germanic *aiw (“eternity; long time”), from Proto-Germanic *aiwaz (“long time; eternity”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ey- (“life, vital force; long time; eternity”); and fēore is the dative singular of feorh (“life”), from Proto-West Germanic *ferh (“life; kind of tree”), from Proto-Germanic *ferhwą (“body; life; tree”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *perkʷ- (“oak tree”) (as the oak represented life and vitality in Germanic mythology). * Lasting is derived from lasten (“to continue, last; etc.”) + -ing (suffix forming present participle forms of verbs, often used as adjectives)); and lasten from Old English lǣstan (“to follow, pursue; to carry out, perform”), from Proto-West Germanic *laistijan (“to follow, pursue; to carry out, perform”), from Proto-Germanic *laistijaną (“to follow, pursue”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leys- (“to trace, track”). By surface analysis, ever (adverb) + lasting (adjective).

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

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