preterite

Meaning

Adj

1. (not-comparable) Showing an action at a determined moment in the past.
2. (not-comparable) Belonging wholly to the past; passed by.

Noun

A grammatical tense or verb form serving to denote events that took place or were completed in the past.

Synonyms

preterit

past tense

past

simple past

past historic

praeterite

praeterite

past simple

preterit

Translations

Präteritum

pretérito

prétérit

passé

pretérito

pasado

passado

preterito

passato

pretèrit

verleden tijd

Präterium

preterito

praeterium

Imperfekt

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈpɹɛtəɹət/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: preterit

In summary

From Middle English preterit, from Old French preterit (13th century), from Latin praeteritum (as in tempus praeteritum (“time past”)), the past participle of praetereō (“I go by, go past”), itself from praeter (“beyond, before, above, more than”) (comparative of prae (“before”)) + itum (the past participle of eō (“I go”)).