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preterite

 - 3 dictionary results

pret⋅er⋅it

  [pret-er-it]
Use preterite in a Sentence
–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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To preterite
pret·er·ite or pret·er·it   (prět'ər-ĭt)   
adj.  Of, relating to, or being the verb tense that describes a past action or state.
n.  

  1. The verb form expressing or describing a past action or condition.

  2. 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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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