āeí
āeí agr. 'immer, endlos, ewig'
Von uhel. *aiweí, von uig. *h₂eyu- „Lebenszeit, lange Zeit“, schließlich von uig. *h₂ey- „Lebensenergie, Leben“. Entspricht dem Lokativ von αἰών (aiṓn), mit oder ohne -ν.
Pronunciation IPA(key): /a.ěː/ → /aˈi/ → /aˈi/
ᾱ̓εί or ᾰ̓εί • (āeí or aeí)(Attic)
- (at all times): always, ever [ synonym ▲][ quotations ▼]
- Synonym: πάντοτε (pántote)
- (for all time): forever, everlastingly, infinitely [ synonyms ▲][ quotations ▼]
- Synonyms: διὰ παντός (dià pantós), διὰπαντός (diàpantós)
- (for (an) eternity): eternally
- (for an indefinitely long period of time, without specification regarding past present or future): abidingly, at length, indefinitely, in perpetuity, lengthily, perpetually
- (for an indefinitely long period of time including the present time): for the time being
- (for an indefinitely long period of time including a specific point in time (generally in the past) which is not the present time): at that time, at the time; back then [ quotations ▼]
- (at all times from a distant past through the present or some other time): from the get-go, from the start, heretofore, since the beginning, to date, up to now, until this day, "jusqu'aujourd'hui"; theretofore [ quotations ▼]
- (at all times from the present or some other time through a distant future): endlessly, evermore, forevermore
Remaining true to its Indo-European root, the adverb ᾱ̓εί imparts the sense that a verbal action occurs continuously for "a long time" in a variety of specifications, or indeed for all time. When specifying a temporally bounded period of time, ᾱ̓εί may refer to an action occurring: either from the far past through the present, from the present until a distant future, for a relatively long time in either the past or in the future, or from the far past through a distant future. Contrast πώποτε (pṓpote), which (where not negated) indicates that a verbal action might occur at any time over a long period of time, but not necessarily continuously.