Standard Lemma guide

permaculture

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

Any system of sustainable agriculture that renews natural resources and enriches local ecosystems.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: agriculture, business, lifestyle

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The design, installation and maintenance of indefinitely sustainable human communities set in balanced ecologies, both urban and rural.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per-der. Proto-Italic *peri- Latin per- Proto-Indo-European *men- Proto-Indo-European *-éh1ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh1yeti Proto-Indo-European *m̥néh1yeti Proto-Italic *m(V)nēō Latin maneō Latin permaneōlbor. Middle French permanentbor. English permanent Middle French agriculturebor. Proto-Indo-European *h2eǵ-? Proto-Indo-European *h2éǵros Proto-Italic *agros Latin ager Proto-Indo-European *kwelh1- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *kwélh1eti Proto-Italic *kwelō Latin colō Proto-Indo-European *-tew-? Proto-Indo-European *-r-eh2? Latin -tūra Latin cultūra Latin agricultūrabor. Middle English agriculture English agriculture blend English permaculture Blend of permanent + agriculture, coined by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in 1978. For a long time Bill Mollison claimed to have copyrighted the word; this was never the case, as copyright law is not applicable to single words.

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: permakulttuuri — agriculture that renews natural resources and enriches local ecosystems
  • French: permaculture — agriculture that renews natural resources and enriches local ecosystems
  • German: Permakultur — agriculture that renews natural resources and enriches local ecosystems
  • Italian: permacultura — agriculture that renews natural resources and enriches local ecosystems
  • Māori: ahutoitū — agriculture that renews natural resources and enriches local ecosystems
  • Polish: permakultura — agriculture that renews natural resources and enriches local ecosystems
  • Portuguese: permacultura — agriculture that renews natural resources and enriches local ecosystems
  • Romanian: permacultură — agriculture that renews natural resources and enriches local ecosystems
  • Swedish: permakultur — agriculture that renews natural resources and enriches local ecosystems
  • Turkish: permakültür — agriculture that renews natural resources and enriches local ecosystems
  • Welsh: paramaethu — agriculture that renews natural resources and enriches local ecosystems