Abiding means lasting for a very long time. An abiding memory, an abiding interest, an abiding sense of loss.
It attaches to a small set of nouns — memory, interest, love, faith — and almost never to anything physical. My abiding memory of something is the one that stayed when the rest went, and the phrase is usually the opening of a story.
1adjectiveabidingLasting for a very long time.
“Her abiding passion was music, from her first piano lesson to her final days.”
abiding is a quality.
From abide, from Old English abidan, to wait for or endure.
Proto-Indo-European
*bʰeydʰ-
Middle English
abyden
English
abide
English, today
abiding
Present participle or participial adjective from abide + -ing; or, from Middle English - participle form of abiden, abyden (“to abide”). abide comes from Middle English abyden. From Middle English abyden, from Old English ābīdan (“to abide, wait, remain, delay, remain behind; survive; wait for, await; expect”), from Proto-West Germanic uʀbīdan, from Proto-Germanic uzbīdaną (“to expect, tolerate”), equivalent to a + bide. Cognate with Scots abide (“to abide, remain”), Middle High German erbīten (“to await, expect”), Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌱𐌴𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌽 (“to expect, await, have patience”). The sense of pay for is due to influence from aby.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA