5 results for: preterite

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

pret·er·it

Audio Help [pret-er-it] Pronunciation Key

–noun Grammar.

1.	past (def. 12).

2.	a preterit tense.

3.	a verb form in this tense.

–adjective

4.	Grammar. noting a past action or state.

5.	Archaic. bygone; past.

Also, pret·er·ite.

[Origin: 1300–50; ME < L praeteritus past, ptp. of praeterīre to go by, equiv. to praeter- preter- + -i-, base of īre to go + -tus ptp. suffix; as tense name < L (tempus) praeteritum

]

—Related forms

pret·er·it·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
preterite

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

pret·er·ite or pret·er·it Audio Help   (prět'ər-ĭt) Pronunciation Key
adj.   Of, relating to, or being the verb tense that describes a past action or state.

n.

The verb form expressing or describing a past action or condition.
A verb in the preterite form.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin (tempus) praeteritum, past (tense), neuter past participle of praeterīre, to go by : praeter, beyond, comparative of prae, before; see per¹ in Indo-European roots + īre, to go; see ei- in Indo-European roots.]

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
preterite

1340, from O.Fr. preterit (13c.), from L. præteritum (as in tempus præteritum "time past"), pp. of præterire "to go by, go past," from præter "beyond, before, above, more than" (comp. of præ "before") + itum, pp. of ire "to go."

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

preterite
noun
a term formerly used to refer to the simple past tense [syn: preterit]

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