Lasting

How to spell lasting

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce lasting

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does lasting mean?

1. adjectiveContinuing or remaining in effect for a long time.
2. verbPresent participle of last: continuing to exist or remain in use over a stretch of time.

Lasting in a sentence

• adjective

  The conference made a lasting impression on her career.

• verb

  The meeting is lasting far longer than anyone expected.

• adjective

  Good insulation provides lasting protection against the cold.

• verb

  With the battery lasting all day, she rarely needs the charger.

Where does lasting come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word grows from the Old English verb laestan, which meant 'to continue, to endure, to follow' and also 'to perform or carry out'. That verb was closely tied to last in the sense of a shoemaker's wooden foot-shaped form, since the underlying Germanic root carried the idea of a track or footprint that one follows along. Over time the verb settled into the modern meaning of going on without stopping, and the present participle laesting came to work as an adjective describing something that endures. The spelling stayed remarkably stable across the centuries, so the main thing to remember is simply the single t before the -ing, matching the verb last. Its everyday relatives include the noun and verb last that English speakers use constantly, which is why the word rarely trips writers up.

How the word is built

• last (to continue, endure)
• -ing (forming an adjective from a verb)