Hypertext Webster Gateway: "perennial"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Perennial \Per*en"ni*al\, a. [L. perennis that lasts the whole
year through; per through + annus year. See {Per-}, and
{Annual}.]
1. ing or continuing through the year; as, perennial
fountains.
2. Continuing without cessation or intermission; perpetual;
unceasing; never failing.
The perennial existence of bodies corporate.
--Burke.
3. (Bot.) Continuing more than two years; as, a perennial
steam, or root, or plant.
Syn: Perpetual; unceasing; never failing; enduring;
continual; permanent; uninterrupted.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Perennial \Per*en"ni*al\, n. (Bot.)
A perennial plant; a plant which lives or continues more than
two years, whether it retains its leaves in winter or not.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
perennial
adj 1: (botany) lasting three seasons or more; "the common
buttercup is a popular perennial plant" [ant: {annual},
{biennial}]
2: lasting an indefinitely long time; suggesting self-renewal;
"perennial happiness"
3: recurring again and again; "perennial efforts to stipulate
the requirements" [syn: {recurrent}, {repeated}]
n : a plant lasting for three seasons or more
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