past
(adjective) earlier than the present time; no longer current; “time past”; “his youth is past”; “this past Thursday”; “the past year”
by, past
(adverb) so as to pass a given point; “every hour a train goes past”
past, past tense
(noun) a verb tense that expresses actions or states in the past
past, past times, yesteryear
(noun) the time that has elapsed; “forget the past”
past
(noun) a earlier period in someone’s life (especially one that they have reason to keep secret); “reporters dug into the candidate’s past”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
past (plural pasts)
The period of time that has already happened, in contrast to the present and the future.
• Richard Chenevix Trench, On the English Language, Past and Present
(grammar) The past tense.
• (period of time that has already happened): foretime, yestertide; see also the past
past (comparative more past, superlative most past)
Having already happened; in the past; finished. [from 14th c.]
(postmodifier) Following expressions of time to indicate how long ago something happened; ago. [from 15th c.]
Of a period of time: having just gone by; previous. [from 15th c.]
(grammar) Of a tense, expressing action that has already happened or a previously-existing state. [from 18th c.]
• (having already happened): bygone, foregone; see also past
• (having just gone by): foregone, preceding, used-to-be; see also former
past (comparative more past, superlative most past)
In a direction that passes.
Synonym: by
Passing by, especially without stopping or being delayed.
past
Beyond in place, quantity or time.
No longer capable of.
Having recovered or moved on from (a traumatic experience, etc.).
• The preposition past is used to tell the time. The time 5:05 is said as five past five. 5:10 as ten past five. 5:15 as quarter past five. 5:20 as twenty past five. 5:25 as twenty-five past five. 5:30 as half past five. If we are aware of the approximate time, we can just use e.g. five past, ten past etc. See the example below.
• Compare with to (five to, ten to, quarter to, twenty to, twenty-five to)
• See also: o'clock
past
(obsolete) simple past tense and past participle of pass
• APTS, APTs, ATSP, PATs, PSAT, PTAs, PTSA, TAPs, TPAs, Taps, ap'ts, apts, pats, spat, stap, taps
Source: Wiktionary
Past, a. Etym: [From Pass, v.]
Definition: Of or pertaining to a former time or state; neither present nor future; gone by; elapsed; ended; spent; as, past troubles; past offences. "Past ages." Milton. Past master. See under Master.
Past, n.
Definition: A former time or state; a state of things gone by. "The past, at least, is secure." D. Webster. The present is only intelligible in the light of the past, often a very remote past indeed. Trench.
Past, prep.
1. Beyond, in position, or degree; further than; beyond the reach or influence of. "Who being past feeling." Eph. iv. 19. "Galled past endurance." Macaulay. Until we be past thy borders. Num. xxi. 22. Love, when once past government, is consequently past shame. L'Estrange.
2. Beyond, in time; after; as, past the hour. Is it not past two o'clock Shak.
3. Above; exceeding; more than. [R.] Not past three quarters of a mile. Shak. Bows not past three quarters of a yard long. Spenser.
Past, adv.
Definition: By; beyond; as, he ran past. The alarum of drums swept past. Longfellow.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
23 November 2024
(adjective) concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations; “theoretical science”
The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.
