permanence

permanence, continuity

noun pehr-mah-NAHNS Rare

Origin: from Latin permanentia, 'durability'

Also means

duty room, on-call service

Usage Note

permanence has two common meanings: the abstract quality of being permanent, and a concrete institutional use — être de permanence means to be on duty or on call. In schools and offices, la permanence is a supervised study room or duty roster. En permanence is an adverbial phrase meaning 'constantly' or 'all the time'.

Examples

"Il est de permanence ce week-end."

Natural Translation

He is on duty this weekend.

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