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# eternity

noun (eternity — uncountable; an eternity, eternities)

«eternity» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Eternity is time that goes on for ever, with no end. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#m1)
2. (church) Christians and many other believers use eternity for the life after death that they believe never ends, with God. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#m2)
3. (informal, hyperbole) An eternity is a very long time, or a time that feels very long: «I waited an eternity for the bus.» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#m3)

### In the lessons

In religious education it means endless time and life after death («for all eternity»). In everyday talk and lessons on hyperbole it is a favourite exaggeration for a long, boring wait. In maths, eternity is like infinity for time: it never finishes. Phrases: for all eternity, an eternity, what seemed like an eternity, eternity ring.

### Examples

- The queue for the rollercoaster took an eternity. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#x1)
- Five minutes before the bell can feel like an eternity. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#x2)
- Christians believe that God is from eternity to eternity. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#x3)
- The ancient Egyptians wanted the pharaoh's body to last for eternity. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#x4)
- After what seemed like an eternity, the lost dog came home. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#x5)
- The prince promised to love her for all eternity. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#x6)
- Waiting for my test results felt like an eternity. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#x7)
- After all, six hundred years is an eternity!” [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/#x8)

### Note

Mostly uncountable, but with «an» in the hyperbole sense: an eternity. Adjective: eternal (eternal life); adverb: eternally. Said «ih-TER-nih-tee». «An eternity» in everyday speech is an exaggeration: it might mean ten minutes, so it does not give a real number of hours.

## In Jewish tradition

It means time without end, as in God living "to all eternity".

**Interpretation.** Tradition teaches that God lives beyond time, and Sefer Yetzirah pictures the world's directions stretching out without end.

### Examples

- These diverge to all eternity, and an as the arms of the universe. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1887) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/E/eternity/#x1)
- They grew wider and wider to all eternity, and these are the boundaries of the world. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/E/eternity/#x2)
- 1) The spirit of the living God, praised and glorified be the name of Him who lives to all eternity. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/E/eternity/#x3)

### Note

Mostly uncountable, but with «an» in the hyperbole sense: an eternity. Adjective: eternal (eternal life); adverb: eternally. Said «ih-TER-nih-tee». «An eternity» in everyday speech is an exaggeration: it might mean ten minutes, so it does not give a real number of hours.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «eternity» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/eternity/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«eternity» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/eternity.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «eternity» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/E/eternity/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«eternity» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/eternity.html) on Mova free.