Where does “eternal” come from?
eternal (Old French) comes from Latin aeternālis, from Latin aeternus, from Latin aevum, from Latin aevom, from Old Latin aivom, from Proto-Italic aiwom, from Proto-Indo-European h₂eyu-, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ey- — vital force, life, age, eternity; day, morning.
Ancestry of “eternal”, step by step
eternal traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Latin aeternālis
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | aeternālis | eternal, everlasting, temporally infinite |
| 2 | Latin | aeternus | abiding, lasting, permanent, perpetual; eternal,... |
| 3 | Latin | aevum | time as a single, unified, continuous and... |
| 4 | Latin | aevom | Archaic form of aevum |
| 5 | Old Latin | aivom | time, lifetime; age |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | aiwom | age |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eyu- | vitality; eternal; vital force, life, long life,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ey- | vital force, life, age, eternity; day, morning |
via Late Latin aeternalis
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Late Latin | aeternalis | everlasting, eternal |