Perpetuate
/pərˈpɛtʃu.eɪt/noun
To make something continue indefinitely or preserve it for a long time.
Did you know?Perpetuate ultimately comes from Latin *perpetuāre*, from *perpetuus* meaning “continuous, uninterrupted,” a root tied to the eerie human obsession with making time itself behave.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*per-
“through, forward, beyond”
Latin
Latin
perpetuus
“continuous, uninterrupted, lasting through”
Latin
Latin
perpetuāre
“to make continuous, prolong”
Late Latin
Latin
perpetuatus
“made lasting or continuous”
14th–15th Century
English
perpetuate
“to make continuous or lasting; to preserve indefinitely”
Modern English
English
perpetuate
“to cause something to continue or be kept alive”
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