Etymograph

English

perpetual

Perpetual comes from Latin perpetuālis ‘universal’, from petō ‘to ask, beg, request, look for, inquire,…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to fly’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-1‘to fly’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péth₂eti2‘to fly’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpetō3‘to ask, beg, request, look for, inquire, petition, entreat’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperpetuus3
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperpetuālis3‘universal’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400perpetuel3
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500perpetuel3
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1834perpetual3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *péth₂eti
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin peto
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English perpetual
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Richard Bentley: “"And yet," returned Francesca, "the secret of Arden's sufferings…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *péth₂eti‘to fly’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péth₂etiWiktionary, Latin peto‘to fly’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpetōWiktionary, English perpetual‘to ask, beg, request, look for, inquire, petition, entreat’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperpetuusWiktionary, English perpetual
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperpetuālisWiktionary, English perpetual‘universal’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400perpetuelWiktionary, English perpetual
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500perpetuelWiktionary, English perpetual
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1834perpetualWiktionary, English perpetual. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Richard Bentley: “"And yet," returned Francesca, "the secret of Arden's sufferings…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to fly’

pass, mile, expansion, expand, patent, pen, helicopter, symptom, feather, spawn, expanse, 89 more

through Proto-Indo-European *péth₂eti ‘to fly’

competent, repetition, 15 more

through Latin petō ‘to ask, beg, request, look for, inquire,…’

repeat, compete, petition, competitor, impetus, 20 more

Today it means

adj Lasting forever, or for an indefinitely long time.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “perpetual”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *péth₂eti, Latin peto. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- / perpetual

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