PEREN'NIAL, adjective [Latin perennis; per and annus, a year.] 1. Lasting or continuing without cessation through the year. 2. Perpetual; unceasing; never failing. 3. In botany, continuing more than two years; as a perennial stem or root. 4. Continuing without intermission; as a fever. PEREN'NIAL, noun In botany, a plant which lives or continues more than two years, whether it retains its leaves or not. That which retains its leaves during winter is called an evergreen; that which casts its leaves, deciduous, or a perdifoil.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI