sempiternal

[ sem-pi-tur-nl ]

adjective

, Literary.

1. everlasting; eternal.

sempiternal

/ ˌsɛmpɪˈtɜːnɪtɪ; ˌsɛmpɪˈtɜːnəl /

adjective

1. literary.
   everlasting; eternal

Derived Forms

• sempiternity, noun
• ˌsempiˈternally, adverb

Other Words From

• sempi·ternal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of sempiternal¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin sempiternālis, equivalent to Latin sempitern ( us ) everlasting semp ( er ) always + -i- -i- + -ternus suffix of temporal adjectives; eterne ) + -ālis -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of sempiternal¹

C15: from Old French sempiternel, from Late Latin sempiternālis, from Latin sempiternus, from semper always + aeternus eternal

Example Sentences

At church, at the altar, there were vestments of gold and the climbing voices of a Mozart mass, tossing rings sempiternal.

From Literature

Such disdain is trumped only by the sempiternal public contempt for Congress and car salesmen.

From Economist

David Bowie's "The Next Day" slipped one place to fourth, toppled by British metallers Bring Me The Horizon, who entered the chart with "Sempiternal", their fourth album.

From Reuters

In the seven years since the release of their debut album, they've shifted styles from metalcore – a genre that matches the speed of hardcore with the pummelling aggression of metal – to the sound of their fourth album Sempiternal, on which the tempos are slower and the vocals carry melodies – though it's all relative – and washes of electronic bathe the guitar riffs.

From The Guardian

Elsewhere, the dubstep swagger and overwrought synths of Can You Feel My Heart, and the clumsy poetry of Hospital for Souls reveal an admirable desire to experiment, but for all its aggression and pop-culture pilfering, Sempiternal frequently feels like the work of a band satisfied to slide down the surface of heavy music rather than engage with its true heart.

From The Guardian