eternize

verb

eter·​nize i-ˈtər-ˌnīz 

eternized; eternizing

transitive verb

1

a

: to make eternal

b

: to prolong indefinitely

2

: immortalize

eternization

i-ˌtər-nə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

Did you know?

Eternize shows up in the works of literary greats, such as John Milton, Edmund Spenser, and Herman Melville, and it sees occasional use in modern-day sources, but it is far from common. The same can be said of its slightly longer and related synonym eternalize. Eternize is the older of the two; our earliest evidence of the word dates to 1566, while evidence of eternalize dates to 1620. But there's a third relative that predates them both, and it's far more common than either of them. That would be eternal, which has been with us since the 14th century. All three words are ultimately rooted in Latin aevum, meaning "age" or "eternity."

Word History

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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