Perpetual Motion
Preserved but no longer current.
The term applied to some theoretical force that will move a machine for- ever of itself — a mirage which holds attractions for some minds much as did the search for the philosophers' stone, the elixir of life, and the fountain of perpetual youth in less enlightened times.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Perpetual Motion” mean?
The term applied to some theoretical force that will move a machine for- ever of itself — a mirage which holds attractions for some minds much as did the search for the philosophers' stone, the elixir of life, and the fountain of perpetual youth in less enlightened times.
Is “Perpetual Motion” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.