longevity
nounUK /lɒnˈd͡ʒɛv.ɪ.ti/ · US /lɑnˈd͡ʒɛv.ə.ti/
Etymology Early 17th century, learned borrowing from Latin longaevitās, from longaevus (“ancient, aged”) + -itās. The first part is related to English long and this association led to the alternative pronunciation with /ŋ/.
1
The quality of being long-lasting, especially of life.
- Grandpa had incredible longevity: he lived to be 105 years old!
- This 142-year-old tiny ex-LNWR SB [signal box, at Batley] is an amazing survivor, probably owing its longevity to its location alongside a level crossing. Indeed it started life as a gate box with the delightful name of Lady Ann's Crossing.2020 July 1, David Allen, “Signalling from Leeds along the S&C”, in Rail, page 74:
1 more example
- The longevity of spicy and swicy will depend on how committed consumers are to sticking with these flavors as they grow older.2024 June 2, Parija Kavilanz, “‘Swicy’ is the hottest trend in food right now”, in CNN:
2
Duration over time; persistence.
- A ‘postdating’ is an example of the use of a lexical item at a later date than currently recorded and these are important in establishing the longevity of use of a term and whether or not it has become obsolete.2018, James Lambert, “Anglo-Indian slang in dictionaries on historical principles”, in World Englishes, volume 37, page 255:
- Synonyms
- long-livedness, permanence
- Derived terms
- longevitous, longevity noodle, longevity peach, longevity rice, prolongevity, shortgevity
- Related terms
- longevous