eternity
etern·i·ty/əˈtɜɹnəti/noun
eternity is spelled E-T-E-R-N-I-T-Y: 8 letters and 3 syllables (etern·i·ty). It appears 6.3 times per million words in written English, the 9,594th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, eternity means “Existence without end, infinite time” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of eternity is eternities.
How many letters and syllables are in eternity?
| Letters | 8: E-T-E-R-N-I-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: etern·i·ty |
| In writing | 6.3 times per million words; the 9,594th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is eternity?
Eternity appears 6.3 times per million words in written English, the 9,594th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce eternity?
- UK /ɪˈtɜːnɪti/
- US /əˈtɜɹnəti/
- US /ɪ-/
Eternity has 3 syllables, split etern·i·ty in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-eternity.wav, En-us-eternity.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with eternity?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as eternity from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹnəti/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: entirety.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of eternity
- eternities plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does eternity mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Existence without end, infinite time.
- 2
Existence outside of time.
- 3
A period of time which extends infinitely far into the future.
- 4
The remainder of time that elapses after death.
- 5
informalA comparatively long time.
It's been an eternity since we last saw each other.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Eternity in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense infinite time:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | éternité |
| German | Ewigkeit |
| Portuguese | eternidade |
| Spanish | eternidad |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does eternity come from?
From Middle English eternyte, from Old French eternité, from Latin aeternitās. Displaced native Old English ēcnes.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).