world without end meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

world without end

adv

Etymology A loose translation of in saeculum saeculi (“into an age of an age”) and in saecula saeculorum (“into ages of ages”), Latin formulas meaning “for ever and ever”; the latter appears prominently in Christian liturgy, being the last line of the Lesser Doxology. In the English counterpart world without end, world carries the archaic sense “age”. The phrase is attested from the Old English period onwards and appears in both the Book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible.

For all time.

Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end.1611, King James Bible:
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.1662, Book of Common Prayer:

2 more examples

And life goes on and on anon, and death goes on, world without end.1999, Stephin Merritt, 69 Love Songs:
Not a day passes when federal boots aren't on the ground in Noble's Holler, churning up every acre, and then going over it again, world without end, until I get I what I want.2012, 20.51 of Episode 11, Season 3 of TV drama Justified

Synonyms: for ever and ever, unto the ages of ages