perpetuate

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to make something, especially something bad, continue for a long time

   These cheap films only perpetuate harmful stereotypes.

2. 2
   verb

   to preserve something so that it lasts and is not forgotten

   The festival perpetuates a tradition that is hundreds of years old.

(16th century) From earlier perpetuat, learned borrowing from Latin perpetuātus (“perpetuated”), perfect passive participle of perpetuō (“to cause to continue uninterruptedly, to proceed with continually, to make perpetual, perpetuate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from perpetuus (“everlasting, perpetual”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix), from per- (“thoroughly, very”) + petō (“to ask, request; to look for; to make for (somewhere)”) + -uus (forms adjectives from verbal stems), literally “that is asked with great zeal, over and over again”, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European…

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