eternity

Everyday

1. Eternity is time that goes on for ever, with no end. tree →
2. (church) Christians and many other believers use eternity for the life after death that they believe never ends, with God. tree →
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 →

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 →
• Five minutes before the bell can feel like an eternity. tree →
• Christians believe that God is from eternity to eternity. tree →
• The ancient Egyptians wanted the pharaoh's body to last for eternity. tree →
• After what seemed like an eternity, the lost dog came home. tree →
• The prince promised to love her for all eternity. tree →
• Waiting for my test results felt like an eternity. tree →
• After all, six hundred years is an eternity!” tree →

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 →
• They grew wider and wider to all eternity, and these are the boundaries of the world. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →
• 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 →

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.