longevity

English

Alternative forms

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/.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /lɒnˈd͡ʒɛv.ɪ.ti/, /lɒŋ-/
    • Audio (Southern England); /lɒnˈd͡ʒɛv.ɪ.ti/:(file)
    • Audio (Southern England); /lɒŋˈd͡ʒɛv.ɪ.ti/:(file)
  • (dialects, US, lot–cloth split) IPA(key): /lɔnˈd͡ʒɛv.ə.ti/, [lɔ̃nˈd͡ʒɛv.ə.ti], /lɔŋˈd͡ʒɛv.ə.ti/, [lɔ̃ŋˈd͡ʒɛv.ə.ti]
  • (General American, cot–caught merger, dialects of Canada) IPA(key): /lɑnˈd͡ʒɛv.ə.ti/, [lɑ̃nˈd͡ʒɛv.ə.ɾi]
  • (Canada, dialects of the US) IPA(key): /lɒnˈd͡ʒɛv.ə.ti/, [lɒŋˈd͡ʒɛv.ə.ɾi]
  • (Australia) IPA(key): /lɔnˈd͡ʒev.ə.ti/, [lɔnˈd͡ʒev.ə.ɾi]
  • (New Zealand) IPA(key): /lɒnˈd͡ʒev.ə.ti/, [lɒnˈd͡ʒev.ə.ɾi]

Noun

longevity (countable and uncountable, plural longevities)

  2. The quality of being long-lasting, especially of life.
    Grandpa had incredible longevity: he lived to be 105 years old!
    • 2020 July 1, David Allen, “Signalling from Leeds along the S&C”, in Rail, page 74:
      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.
    • 2024 June 2, Parija Kavilanz, “‘Swicy’ is the hottest trend in food right now”, in CNN‎[1], Atlanta, Ga.: Warner Bros. Discovery, archived from the original on 12 January 2026:
      The longevity of spicy and swicy will depend on how committed consumers are to sticking with these flavors as they grow older.
  4. Duration over time; persistence.
    • 2018, James Lambert, “Anglo-Indian slang in dictionaries on historical principles”, in World Englishes, volume 37, page 255:
      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.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

References

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