perpetuity

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The quality or condition of being perpetual: "The perpetuity of the Church was an article of faith” ( Morris L. West).
2. n. Time without end; eternity.
3. n. Law The condition of an estate that is limited so as to be inalienable either perpetually or longer than the period determined by law.
4. n. Law An estate so limited.
5. n. An annuity payable indefinitely.
6. idiom. in perpetuity For an indefinite period of time; forever.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The state or character of being perpetual; endless duration; continued uninterrupted existence, or duration through the ages or for an indefinite period of time: as,the perpetuity of laws and institutions.
2. n. Something of which there will be no end; something lasting forever or for an indefinitely long time.
3. n. In law: A limitation intended to be unalterable and of indefinite duration; a disposition of property which attempts to make it inalienable beyond certain limits fixed or conceived as being fixed by the general law. Pollock. The evils incident to rendering any specific piece of land or fund inalienable, and thus shutting it out from the general circulation of property, early led the courts to hold provisions for a perpetual suspension of the power of alienation to be void. The desire of owners of estates to perpetuate the wealth of the family led to attempts to create forfeitures and gifts over to other persons, by way of shielding the successor in the title from temptation to alienate; and as the right to create life-estates and trusts, and to add gifts over to other persons upon the termination of precedent estates, could not be wholly denied, the question has been what temporary suspension of the power of alienation is reasonable and allowable, and what is too remote and to be held void as “tending to create a perpetuity.” (See remoteness.) The limit now generally established for this purpose in varying forms is substantially to the effect that no disposition of real property or creation of an estate therein is valid if it suspends the absolute power of alienation for more than a period measured by a life or lives in being plus 21 years and 9 months. Hence, since literal perpetuities are no longer known, except in the law of charities, etc., the phrase rule against perpetuities has come to mean in ordinary usage the rule against future estates which are void for remoteness as “tending to create a perpetuity.”
4. n. Duration to all futurity; exemption from intermission or ceasing.
5. n. In the doctrine of annuities, the number of years in which the simple interest of any principal sum will amount to the same as the principal itself; or the number of years' purchase to be given for an annuity which is to continue forever; also, the annuity itself.

Wiktionary

1. n. uncountable The quality or state of being perpetual; endless duration; uninterrupted existence.
2. n. countable Something that is perpetual.
3. n. countable, law A limitation intended to be unalterable and of indefinite duration; a disposition of property which attempts to make it inalienable beyond certain limits fixed or conceived as being fixed by the general law.
4. n. countable, finance An annuity in which the periodic payments begin on a fixed date and continue indefinitely.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The quality or state of being perpetual.
2. n. Something that is perpetual.
3. n. Endless time.
4. n. The number of years in which the simple interest of any sum becomes equal to the principal.
5. n. The number of years' purchase to be given for an annuity to continue forever.
6. n. A perpetual annuity.
7. n. Duration without limitations as to time.
8. n. The quality or condition of an estate by which it becomes inalienable, either perpetually or for a very long period; also, the estate itself so modified or perpetuated.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. the property of being perpetual (seemingly ceaseless)