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Jan 3, 2006

This week's theme
Words related to time

This week's words
hesternal
perennial
anachronism
yestreen
bimester

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perennial

adjective:
1. Lasting for a long time; perpetual.
2. (of a plant) Living several years.
3. Recurrent.

noun:
1. A perennial plant.
2. Something that continues or is recurrent.

[From Latin perennis (through the year), from per- (throughout) + annus (year). Ultimately from Indo-European root at- (to go) that is also the source of annual, annals, annuity, and anniversary.]

See more usage examples of perennial in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

"The city is mounting an unprecedented war on the perennial plague."
Brian Bergman; Mosquitoes to Bite it in Winnipeg; Maclean's (Toronto, Canada); May 20, 2002.

"Summer harvests of vegetable and fruit crops are maturing quicker and cropping later, while spring-flowering shrubs, annuals, and perennials are growing faster through the winter and coming into bloom sooner."
Paul Healy; A Warming Welcome; The Mercury (Hobart, Tasmania, Australia); Jun 8, 2002.

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