Lasts

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /lɑːsts/

Definitions

1. To continue or endure over a stretch of time without ending ; to remain intact or maintain its state over time without deteriorating
2. To persist or remain effective for a duration ; to keep existing or stay usable without becoming unusable
3. To extend through a certain length of time ; to survive or retain its function or quality across a span

Etymology: The verb "lasts" is simply the third-person singular form of "last", so its story is the story of that verb. Its most surprising route runs through the shoemaker's workshop. Old English "lǣste" meant a wooden model of a foot, the shape around which a shoe was built, and the verb "lasten" grew out of that noun. To last was originally to stay on a last, or to be shaped by one, and only later came to mean enduring over time. The noun traces back further to a Proto-Germanic root meaning "track" or "footprint", ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root for tracing or following a trail. English kept this sense in the shoemaker's tool, while the verb drifted toward endurance. The same ancient root gave English "learn" and "lore", which are doublets of the same word.