perpetuity

n., pl., -ties.

1. The quality or condition of being perpetual: "The perpetuity of the Church was an article of faith" (Morris L. West).
2. Time without end; eternity.
3. Law.
   1. The condition of an estate that is limited so as to be inalienable either perpetually or longer than the period determined by law.
   2. An estate so limited.
4. An annuity payable indefinitely.

idiom:

in perpetuity

1. For an indefinite period of time; forever.

A constant stream of identical cash flows with no end. The formula for determining the present value of a perpetuity is as follows:

Investopedia Says:
This is not as abstract a concept as you may think; the British issued bonds, called consols, which are a great example of a perpetuity. By purchasing a consol from the British government, the bondholder is entitled to receive annual interest payments forever. Although it may seem a bit illogical, an infinite series of cash flows can have a finite present value. Because of the time value of money, each payment is only a fraction of the last.

The concept of a perpetuity is used often in financial theory, such as the dividend discount model (DDM).

Related Links:
The DDM is one of the most foundational of financial theories, but it's only as good as its assumptions. Digging Into The Dividend Discount Model
Find out why time really is money by learning to calculate present and future value. Understanding The Time Value Of Money
Move beyond simply buying calls and puts, and learn how to turn time-value decay into potential profits. The Importance of Time Value

Existing forever.

The condition of being never ending. Most states attempt to outlaw perpetuities because of potential problems. A perpetual income stream may cause bankruptcy. A Deed that keeps property in a family in perpetuity can cause financial hardship.
Example: A bank offers to pay a 5% interest rate in perpetuity. A $10,000 deposit should receive $500 annual income for as long as the deposit remains in the account.

Annuity that goes on indefinitely. An example of a perpetuity is preferred stock that yields a constant dollar dividend indefinitely. The Present Value of a perpetuity is A/i where A is the periodic payment (the amount of an annuity) and i is the Discount Rate per period. For example, assume that a perpetual bond has an $80-per-year interest payment and that the discount rate is 10%. The present value of this perpetuity is $800 ($80/0.10).

noun

1. The quality or state of having no end: ceaselessness, endlessness, eternality, eternalness, eternity, everlastingness, world without end. See continue/stop/pause.
2. The totality of time without beginning or end: eternality, eternalness, eternity, infinity, sempiternity. See limited/unlimited.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - uafbrudt varighed, varig uafhændelighed

Nederlands (Dutch)
eeuwigheid, levenslange lijfrente, levenslang bezit

Français (French)
n. - perpétuité

Deutsch (German)
n. - Ewigkeit

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αιωνιότητα, (το) διηνεκές

Italiano (Italian)
perpetuità, eternità

Português (Portuguese)
n. - perpetuidade (f), posse perpétua (f), anuidade perpétua (f)

Русский (Russian)
увековечение, бессрочно

Español (Spanish)
n. - perpetuidad

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - för all framtid, evighet, beständighet, oförytterlig egendom (jur.), livränta

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
永久, 永久使用权, 不朽

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 永久, 永久使用權, 不朽

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 영속, 영구 구속, 영구 연금

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 永続, 永劫, 永続物, 終身位階, 永代所有権, 財産永久拘束, 永続性

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) على الدوام, للأبد‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮נצח, קיצבה תמידית‬

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