Lifetime

Lifetime

Noun / Adjective · /ˈlaɪf.taɪm/

Definition

(Noun) the duration of a person's life; the period during which something exists or functions; (Adjective) lasting for or designating something for the whole of a person's life — a lifetime achievement, a lifetime ban.

Origin

From life (Old English lif) + time (Old English tīma — a period, a space of time). Lifetime as a compound denoting the duration of a life has been in English since the 14th century. The adjectival use designating something as covering an entire life (lifetime supply, lifetime warranty) developed in the 19th and 20th centuries.