Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1400-1500
Language: Latin
Origin: , present participle of permanere 'to stay till the end'

permanent

1 adjective
     
per‧ma‧nent1 S2 W2
continuing to exist for a long time or for all the time in the future [≠ temporary]:
He gave up a permanent job in order to freelance.
a permanent change in your eating habits
The blindness that the disease causes will be permanent.
Miller soon became a permanent fixture (=someone or something that is always there) on the team.
—permanence also permanency noun [uncountable]
the permanence of parental love
our desire for some sense of permanence
WORD FOCUS: long WORD FOCUS: long
continuing for a long time: lengthy
continuing for much too long: interminable, marathon, endless, long-winded, long-drawn-out, protracted
continuing for a long time and not changing: permanent, lasting, lifelong
when feelings last for a long time: lingering, abiding, enduring, lasting

➔ See also long
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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