past English · revision 3625

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=before 1325 (Cursor Mundi)}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /pɑːst/, US /pæst/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|past]], a variant of [[m|enm|passed]], the past participle of [[m|enm|passen|t=to go by]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(COED 2004) the source of [[pass]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) Hoad explains that it grew out of perfect forms made with “to be”, as in “the daies ben passed”.^(Hoad 1986) French [[m|fr|passé]] and Italian [[m|it|passato]] were formed in the same way.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Gone by, ended, over: before 1325, in the ''Cursor Mundi''.^(Barnhart 1988) The form ''passed'' is used about 1380 in Chaucer's ''Boece''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The preposition, “beyond in time or place”, dates from about 1300,^(Etymonline) from constructions such as “the day is passed prime”,^(Hoad 1986) and the adverb, as in ''go past'', from 1546^(MW Collegiate) or, according to Hoad, the 19th century.^(Hoad 1986) “Gone by, belonging to an earlier time” is from the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline) The grammatical sense appears in Palsgrave in 1530;^(Barnhart 1988) ''past tense'' is from the 1650s and ''past participle'' by 1775.^(Etymonline) The noun, “the time gone by”, is recorded before 1500^(Barnhart 1988) or about 1500,^(Etymonline) and “a person's earlier life”, often a shameful one, by 1836.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – preposition.^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1325 – gone by (''Cursor Mundi'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1500 – noun, the time gone by.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1530 – grammatical sense (Palsgrave).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1546 – adverb.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1650s – ''past tense''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1775 – ''past participle''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1836 – a person's past.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Gone by; over; no longer current.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Belonging to an earlier time; [[bygone]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Just gone by: ''the past week''.^(AHD)

+ # Having formerly held an office: ''a past president''.^(AHD)

+ # ''(grammar)'' Of a [[tense]] expressing an earlier action or state.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The time before the present.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A person's earlier life, especially one kept secret.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(grammar)'' The past tense, or a verb in it.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Preposition===

+ # Beyond in time; after: ''half past six''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Beyond in position or reach: ''past hope''.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # So as to go by: ''walk past''.^(AHD)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pastless]]

+ * [[pastness]]

+ * [[past participle]]

+ * [[past perfect]]

+ * [[past progressive]]

+ * [[past tense]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[flypast]]

+ * [[past master]]

+ * [[past mistress]]

+ * [[fly-past]]

+ * [[march-past]]

+ * [[pass]]

+ * [[passé]]

+ * [[passage]]

+ * [[bygone]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}