æterne

A form of eterne — Eternal.

Meanings

adjectiveæterne (comparative more æterne, superlative most æterne)

comparative more æterne · superlative most æterne

  1. alternativeAlternative form of eterne.

    A King which in earth is euen the ſame, / That God is in heauen of kings King æterne.

    1596, A Treatise of Morall Philosophie Containing the Sayings of the Wise: Wherin You May See the Worthie & Pithie Sayings of Philosophers, Emperors, Kinges and Oratours: […], London: Thomas Este, folio 60, verso
    4 more examples

    For the ſcripture teacheth, that there is one god, the firſt beginning, and original of al thĩges, infinite, æterne, almightie, and perfecte in euerie point, whoſe ſubſtance and eſſence therefore muſt nedes be ſimple, and vncompound.[…]And the ſumme, and meaninge of the wordes, which he now ſetteh forth is this, that the lorde Ieſus, though he ioigned vnto him mãnes nature in time, yet is æterne before al time, without beginning, & the verie auctor, maker, & prince of al men, high and low, and the true fountaine of al goodnes, righteouſnes, and holines, and of al the benefites, and graces, that at anie time haue ben giuen to mẽ, ſithens the begĩninge of the world, or ſhable giuen hereafter to the ende of the world.

    1558, Bartho[lomew] Traheron, An Exposition of a Parte of S. Iohannes Gospel Made in Sondrie Readinges in the English Congregation […]

    Botte thanne rennome æterne—ytte ys botte ayre;[…]I fele myne eyne to ſwymme yn æterne nyghte;[…]Whenne Brute from Brutons ſonke to æterne reſte.

    1760–1770, Thomas Chatterton, Poems, Supposed to Have Been Written at Bristol, by Thomas Rowley, and Others, in the Fifteenth Century. The Third Edition; to Which Is Added an Appendix, Containing Some Observations upon the Language of These Poems; Tending to Prove, That They Were, Not by Any Ancient Author, but Entirely by Thomas Chatterton., London: […] T. Payne and Son, published 1778, pages 133, 156, and 198

    So seek the daughters of illicit joy, / Like roaring lions, whom they may destroy, / They mimic charms, to seeming pleasures lure, / But lead to woes æterne, to woes that have no cure:[…]

    1796, Robert Farren Cheetham, Odes and Miscellanies, Stockport: […] J. Clarke, page 119

    Ere all, in ancientry æterne, was God / (Holy and blessed alway be His name) / In essence inconceivable.

    1855, Philip James Bailey, The Mystic and Other Poems, London: Chapman and Hall, page 63
Cite this entry
APA

æterne. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/%C3%A6terne

MLA

“æterne.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/%C3%A6terne. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “æterne,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/%C3%A6terne.

Source: æterne on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.