interminable
nounEtymology From Middle English interminable, from Middle French interminable and its etymon Late Latin interminābilis. By surface analysis, in- + terminable.
1
Mathematics, Sciences Dated A repeating decimal.
interminable
adjUK /ɪnˈtɜː(ɹ).mɪn.ə.bəl/
Etymology From Middle English interminable, from Middle French interminable and its etymon Late Latin interminābilis. By surface analysis, in- + terminable.
1
Existing or occurring without interruption or end; ceaseless, unending.
- After supper Sir Pitt Crawley began to smoke his pipe; and when it became quite dark, he lighted the rushlight in the tin candlestick, and producing from an interminable pocket a huge mass of papers, began reading them, and putting them in order.1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Crawley of Queen’s Crawley”, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 61:
- The sea-reach of the Thames stretched before us like the beginning of an interminable waterway.1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 193:
2 more examples
- It was now a beautiful, moonlit night. The air was crisp and invigorating. Behind them lay the interminable vista of the desert, dotted here and there with an occasional oasis.1913 June–December, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Through the Valley of the Shadow”, in The Return of Tarzan, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, […], published March 1915, →OCLC, page 137:
- Life's interminable succession of stages.1983 February 5, Joseph Van Ness, “Keeping It Alive”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 28, page 10:
- Derived terms
- interminableness, interminably