Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Permanent in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels permanent as adjective. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913adjective
Permanent

[L. permanens, -entis, p. pr. of permanere to stay or remain to the end, to last; per + manere to remain: cf. F. permanent. See Per-, and Mansion.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordpermanent
Part of speechadjective
Historical etymology[L. permanens, -entis, p. pr. of permanere to stay or remain to the end, to last; per + manere to remain: cf. F. permanent. See Per-, and Mansion.]
Selected historical definitionContinuing in the same state, or without any change that destroys form or character; remaining unaltered or unremoved; abiding; durable; fixed; stable; lasting; as, a permanent impression.
Signed record IDwebster1913-permanent-adjective-ee8a546738b0
Source locatorCIDE.P, paragraph 5543; Gutenberg eBook 666
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 666Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "permanent" is labeled adjective. Its etymology is recorded as: "[L. permanens, -entis, p. pr. of permanere to stay or remain to the end, to last; per + manere to remain: cf. F. permanent. See Per-, and Mansion.]" The selected historical definition says: "Continuing in the same state, or without any change that destroys form or character; remaining unaltered or unremoved; abiding; durable; fixed; stable; lasting; as, a permanent impression."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

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[OE. pouer, poer, OF. poeir, pooir, F. pouvoir, n. & v., fr. LL. potere, for L. posse, potesse, to be able, to have power. See Possible, Potent, and cf. Posse comitatus.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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