ad infinitum

English

WOTD – 14 March 2016

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin ad īnfīnītum (to infinity).

Pronunciation

Adverb

ad infinitum (not comparable)

  1. Endlessly; for ever; neverendingly.
    • 1984, Milan Kundera, part I (Lightness and Weight), chapter I, in Michael Henry Heim, transl., The Unbearable Lightness of Being, London: Faber and Faber, translation of Nesnesitelná lehkost bytí, published 1985, →ISBN, page 3:
      The idea of eternal return is a mysterious one, and Nietzsche has often perplexed other philosophers with it: to think that everything recurs as we once experienced it, and that the recurrence itself recurs ad infinitum!

Translations

German

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin ad īnfīnītum (to infinity).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ad in.fi.ˈni.tum/, [at ɪn.fiːˈni.tuːm]
  • Hyphenation: ad in‧fi‧ni‧tum

Adverb

ad infinitum

  1. ad infinitum (endlessly)
    Synonyms: in infinitum, endlos

References

Latin

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Adverb

ad īnfīnītum (not comparable)

  1. to or till infinity, to an unlimited extent, without restriction, everywhere, at pleasure

Descendants

  • German: ad infinitum (learned)
  • English: ad infinitum (learned)
  • Spanish: ad infinitum (learned)
  • Polish: ad infinitum (learned)
  • Portuguese: ad infinitum (learned)

References

Polish

Alternative forms

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin ad īnfīnītum (to infinity).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /at ˌin.fiˈɲi.tum/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Syllabification: ad in‧fi‧ni‧tum

Adverb

ad infinitum (not comparable)

  1. ad infinitum (endlessly)

Further reading

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin ad īnfīnītum (to infinity).

Pronunciation

 
  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈad ĩˈfĩ.ni.tũ/
    • (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈad ĩˈfi.ni.tũ/

Adverb

ad infinitum (not comparable)

  1. ad infinitum (endlessly)
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:sempre

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin ad īnfīnītum (to infinity).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˌad infiˈnitum/ [ˌað̞ ĩɱ.fiˈni.t̪ũm]
  • Audio (El Salvador):(file)
  • Syllabification: ad in‧fi‧ni‧tum

Adverb

ad infinitum

  1. ad infinitum (endlessly)
    Synonym: indefinidamente

References