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According to many dictionaries, "forever" (n or adv) refers to time, but I want to use it to refer to space, but which version is correct, the one-word or two-word version? E.g.:

The field goes on for ever.
The field goes on forever.

I suppose it can be argued that the word still refers to time here since that's the how the field goes...forever.

And while "forever" can either be a noun or an adverb, the following usage seems to make it an adj. Can someone more knowledgeable please clarify?

The adoptive parents gave the little orphan a forever home.

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  • The last usage is nonstandard.
    – phoog
    Commented Nov 19, 2020 at 18:52
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    Lexico has adjective, informal: Lasting or permanent. The Beach Boys' song Disney Girls ... "a forever wife"
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Nov 19, 2020 at 18:54
  • Can you please specify the source where you saw it as a noun, because in major dictionaries it shows adverb? 'For ever' and 'forever' are essentially the variants of the exact same word. 'For ever' is mostly used in British English as compared to American English.
    – Dhanishtha Ghosh
    Commented Nov 19, 2020 at 18:56
  • Dhanishtha Ghosh asks about a noun case, and so, here's my attempt: How much money do you have? Twenty dollars.<br> How much time do you have? <b>Forever</b>.
    – user125224
    Commented Nov 19, 2020 at 19:37

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"a forever home" has become standard in the context of re-homing rescued animals and also when selling young pets.

Examples

Our beautiful baby girl has some gorgeous pups, we have one stunning little tiny girl left ready for her forever home. https://www.preloved.co.uk/classifieds/pets/dogs/all/uk/dog+needing+forever+home

Lola the dog finally gets a forever home after 400 days in a shelter

https://metro.co.uk/2020/11/04/lola-the-dog-finally-gets-a-forever-home-after-400-days-in-a-shelter-13535460/?ito=cbshare

Maybe people are starting to use it when referring to human habitation as well.

It is also standard practice to use "forever" when referring to infinite space.

Does the Universe go on Forever? Is outer space finite or infinite? Explore this age-old question.

https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/does-the-universe-go-on-forever

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British usage is traditionally "for ever" for the literal meaning (eternally), and "forever" for the extended and metaphorical uses. American usage (and some British usage) is to write "forever" regardless.

As "The field goes on forever" is a figurative use of "forever" (you don't mean that the field is literally infinite in size or it will literally take for ever to walk across it), it should definitely be "forever", one word. (If you are referring to a field that is of infinite size, you could spell "forever" either way in BrE - though in AmE it would always be "forever".)

As for the adjective, I had not come across it, but Lexico includes it: "informal attributive Lasting or permanent" with examples such as:

  • these puppies need a forever home
  • parenting is a forever job
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