Meanings
- For all time.
And life goes on and on anon, and death goes on, world without end.
1999, Stephin Merritt, 69 Love Songs3 more examples
Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end.
1611, King James BibleAs it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
1662, Book of Common PrayerNot a day passes when federal boots aren't on the ground in Noble's Holler, churning up every acre, and then going over it again, world without end, until I get I what I want.
2012, 20.51 of Episode 11, Season 3 of TV drama JustifiedSynonyms: for ever and ever, unto the ages of ages
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbFor all time.
Origin
A loose translation of in saeculum saeculi (“into an age of an age”) and in saecula saeculorum (“into ages of ages”), Latin formulas meaning “for ever and ever”; the latter appears prominently in Christian liturgy, being the last line of the Lesser Doxology. In the English counterpart world without end, world carries the archaic sense “age”. The phrase is attested from the Old English period onwards and appears in both the Book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
world without end. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/world%20without%20end
“world without end.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/world%20without%20end. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “world without end,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/world%20without%20end.
Source: world without end on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.