past

See also: pásť, pást, and päsť

English

Etymology

From Middle English, past participle of passen (“to pass, to go by”), whence Modern English pass.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: päst, IPA^(key): /pɑːst/
• (Northern England, Scotland) IPA^(key): /past/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• (US) enPR: păst, IPA^(key): /pæst/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Homophone: passed
• Rhymes: -æst, -ɑːst

Noun

past (plural pasts)

1. The period of time that has already happened, in contrast to the present and the future.

   a book about a time machine that can transport people back into the past

   • 1830, Daniel Webster, a speech

     The past, at least, is secure.

   • 1860, Richard Chenevix Trench, On the English Language, Past and Present:

     The present is only intelligible in the light of the past, often a very remote past indeed.

   • 2012, Chinle Miller, In Mesozoic Lands: The Mesozoic Geology of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Kindle edition:

     The Mesozoic landscape of southeastern Utah can tell us much about the past, and it's one of the most intriguing and beautiful landscapes on Earth.

2. (grammar) The past tense.

Synonyms

• (period of time that has already happened): foretime, yestertide; see also Thesaurus:the past

Derived terms

• blast from the past
• in the past
• past anterior
• past continuous
• past historic
• pastless
• past participle
• past perfect
• past progressive
• past simple
• past tense
• past-time
• simple past
• thing of the past
• time past
• times past

 

Translations

period of time that has already happened

• Afrikaans: verlede (af) sg
• Albanian: shkuar (sq) f
• Arabic: (indefinite) مَاضٍ (ar) m (māḍin), (definite) الْمَاضِي m (al-māḍī)
• Armenian: անցյալ (hy) (ancʻyal)
• Azerbaijani: keçmiş (az)
• Bashkir: үткән (ütkən)
• Belarusian: міну́лае n (minúlaje)
• Bengali: অতীত (bn) (otit)
• Bulgarian: ми́нало (bg) n (mínalo)
• Burmese: ရှေး (my) (hre:), အထက် (my) (a.htak), အတိတ် (my) (a.tit)
• Catalan: passat (ca) m
• Cebuano: kagahapon
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 過去／过去 (zh) (guòqu)

• Czech: minulost (cs) f
• Danish: fortid (da) c
• Dutch: verleden (nl) n, voorbije (nl) n, vervlogene n
• Esperanto: estinteco (eo)
• Estonian: minevik
• Faroese: fortíð f
• Finnish: menneisyys (fi)
• French: passé (fr) m
• Galician: pasado m
• Georgian: წარსულში (c̣arsulši)
• German: Vergangenheit (de) f
• Greek: παρελθόν (el) n (parelthón)

  Ancient: παρελθόν n (parelthón)

• Hebrew: עָבָר (he) m (avár)
• Hiligaynon: kinaradto
• Hindi: अतीत (hi) m (atīt), माज़ी m (māzī)
• Hungarian: múlt (hu)
• Icelandic: fortíð (is) f
• Ido: pasinto (io)
• Indonesian: masa lalu (id)
• Interlingua: passato
• Italian: passato (it) m
• Japanese: 過去 (ja) (かこ, kako)
• Kazakh: өткен (ötken)
• Khmer: អតីតកាល (ʼaʼtəytaʼkaal)
• Korean: 과거(過去) (ko) (gwageo)
• Kyrgyz: өткөн (ky) (ötkön)
• Lao: ອາດີດ (lo) (ʼā dīt)
• Latin: praeteritum n
• Latvian: pagātne (lv) f
• Lithuanian: praeitis (lt) m
• Macedonian: минато n (minato)
• Malay: masa lalu (ms)
• Maltese: passat (mt) m, passata f
• Manchu: ᠰᡝᡳᠪᡝᠨᡳ (seibeni)
• Maori: mua (mi), whakapata, tuauri (Long ago)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: өнгөрсөн цаг (öngörsön cag), өнгөрсөн юм (öngörsön jüm)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: fortid m or f

  Nynorsk: fortid f

• Occitan: passat (oc) m
• Old English: forþġewitennes f
• Ossetian: ивгъуыд (ivǧwyd)
• Pali: atīta m
• Persian:

  Dari: گُذَشْتَه (fa) (guzašta)

  Iranian Persian: گُذَشْتِه (fa) (gozašte)

• Plautdietsch: Vegonenheit f
• Polish: przeszłość (pl) f
• Portuguese: passado (pt) m
• Quechua: ñawpaq pacha
• Romanian: trecut (ro) n
• Russian: про́шлое (ru) n (próšloje), было́е (ru) n (bylóje)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: про̏шло̄ст f

  Roman: prȍšlōst (sh) f

• Slovak: minulosť f
• Slovene: preteklost (sl) f
• Spanish: pasado (es) m
• Swedish: förflutna (sv), dåtid (sv) c
• Tagalog: nakaraan
• Tajik: гузашта (tg) (guzašta)
• Telugu: పూర్వం (te) (pūrvaṁ), గతం (te) (gataṁ)
• Thai: อดีต (th) (à-dìit)
• Tocharian B: kätkor
• Turkish: geçmiş (tr)
• Turkmen: geçmiş
• Ukrainian: мину́ле n (mynúle)
• Urdu: ماضی m (māzī)
• Uzbek: oʻtmish (uz)
• Vietnamese: quá khứ (vi) (過去)
• Walloon: passé (wa) m
• Yiddish: פֿאַרגאַנגענהייט f (fargangenheyt), עבֿר m (over)

(grammar) past tense

• Afrikaans: verlede tyd (af)
• Albanian: kohë e shkuar f, koha e shkuar f (definite)
• Arabic: مَاضٍ (ar) m (māḍin) (indefinite), الْمَاضِي m (al-māḍī) (definite), فِعْل مَاضٍ m (fiʕl māḍin), الْفِعْل الْمَاضِي m (al-fiʕl al-māḍī) (definite)
• Armenian: անցյալ (hy) (ancʻyal), անցյալ ժամանակ (hy) (ancʻyal žamanak)
• Azerbaijani: keçmiş zaman
• Bashkir: үткән заман (ütkən zaman)
• Belarusian: міну́лы час m (minúly čas)
• Bengali: অতীত কাল (otit kal)
• Bulgarian: ми́нало вре́ме n (mínalo vréme)
• Buryat: үнгэрһэн саг (üngerhen sag)
• Carpathian Rusyn: минулый час m (mynulŷj čas)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 過去時態／过去时态 (guòqù shítài), 過去時／过去时 (zh) (guòqùshí), 過去式／过去式 (zh) (guòqùshì)

• Chuvash: иртнӗ вӑхӑт (irtnĕ văh̬ăt)
• Crimean Tatar: keçken zaman
• Czech: minulý čas m
• Danish: datid (da) c, præteritum (da) n
• Dutch: verleden tijd (nl) m
• Estonian: minevik
• Faroese: tátíð f
• Finnish: imperfekti (fi)
• French: passé (fr) m
• Galician: pasado m
• Georgian: ნამყო (namq̇o)
• German: Vergangenheit (de) f, Präteritum (de) n
• Greek: αόριστος (el) m (aóristos)
• Hebrew: עָבָר (he) m (avár)
• Hindi: भूतकाल (hi) m (bhūtkāl), भूत काल m (bhūt kāl), माज़ी m (māzī)
• Hungarian: múlt idő (hu)
• Icelandic: þátíð (is) f
• Ido: pasinto (io)
• Indonesian: kala lampau
• Italian: passato (it) m
• Japanese: 過去時制 (かこじせい, kako jisei), 過去形 (ja) (かこけい, kakokei)
• Kazakh: өткен шақ (ötken şaq)
• Khmer: អតីតកាល (ʼaʼtəytaʼkaal)
• Korean: 과거형(過去形) (ko) (gwageohyeong), 과거 시제(過去時制) (ko) (gwageo sije)
• Kyrgyz: өткөн чак (ötkön cak)
• Latin: tempus praeteritum n, praeteritum n
• Latvian: pagātne (lv) f, pagātnes laiks m
• Lithuanian: būtasis laikas (lt) m
• Macedonian: минато време n (minato vreme)
• Malay: masa lampau (ms)
• Maltese: passat (mt)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: өнгөрсөн цаг (öngörsön cag)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: preteritum n, datid m or f

  Nynorsk: preteritum n, datid f

• Old English: forþġewiten
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: ماضی (fa) (mâzi), گُذَشْتِه (fa) (gozašte), زَمانِ گُذَشْتِه (zamân-e gozašte)

• Polish: czas przeszły (pl)
• Portuguese: pretérito (pt) m, passado (pt) m
• Romanian: trecut (ro) n
• Russian: проше́дшее вре́мя (ru) n (prošédšeje vrémja)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: прошло време n, прошло вријеме n

  Roman: prošlo vreme n, prošlo vrijeme n

• Slovak: minulý čas m, préteritum n
• Slovene: preteklik m , pretekli čas m
• Spanish: pretérito (es) m, tiempo pasado m
• Swedish: preteritum (sv) n, dåtid (sv) c, förfluten tid c, imperfekt (sv) n
• Tagalog: naganap, pangnagdaan
• Tajik: замони гузашта (zamon-i guzašta), гузашта (tg) (guzašta), мози (moz-i) (dated)
• Tatar: үткән заман (ütkän zaman)
• Telugu: గతించిన (gatiñcina), జరిగిన (te) (jarigina), భూతకాలము (te) (bhūtakālamu)
• Thai: อดีตกาล (th) (à-dìit-dtà-gaan)
• Tibetan: འདས་པ ('das pa)
• Turkish: geçmiş zaman (tr)
• Turkmen: öten zaman
• Ukrainian: мину́лий час (uk) m (mynúlyj čas)
• Urdu: ماضی m (māzī)
• Uyghur: ئۆتكەن زامان (ötken zaman)
• Uzbek: oʻtgan zamon
• Vietnamese: thời quá khứ, thì quá khứ
• Yakut: ааспыт кэм (aaspıt kem)
• Yiddish: פֿאַרגאַנגענע צײַט f (fargangene tsayt), עבֿר m (over)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Danish: ^{(please verify)} præteritum (da)

See also

• preterite

Adjective

past (comparative more past, superlative most past)

1. Having already happened; in the past; finished. [from 14th c.]

   past glories

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 7, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     The highway to the East Coast which ran through the borough of Ebbfield had always been a main road and even now, despite the vast garages, the pylons and the gaily painted factory glasshouses which had sprung up beside it, there still remained an occasional trace of past cultures.

2. (postmodifier) Following expressions of time to indicate how long ago something happened; ago. [from 15th c.]
   • 1999, George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings, Bantam, published 2011, page 538:

     That had been, what, three years past?

   • 2009, John Sadler, Glencoe, Amberley, published 2009, page 20:

     Some four decades past, as a boy, I had a chance encounter and conversation with the late W.A. Poucher [...].

3. Of a period of time: having just gone by; previous. [from 15th c.]

   during the past year

   • 2012 April 23, Angelique Chrisafis, “François Hollande on top but far right scores record result in French election”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     Sarkozy's total will be seen as a personal failure. It is the first time an outgoing president has failed to win a first-round vote in the past 50 years and makes it harder for Sarkozy to regain momentum.

4. (grammar) Of a tense, expressing action that has already happened or a previously-existing state. [from 18th c.]

   past tense

Synonyms

• (having already happened): bygone, foregone; see also Thesaurus:past
• (having just gone by): foregone, preceding, used-to-be; see also Thesaurus:former

Translations

having already happened; in the past

• Arabic: مَاضٍ (ar) (māḍin)
• Armenian: անցյալ (hy) (ancʻyal)
• Bashkir: үткән (ütkən)
• Belarusian: міну́лы (minúly)
• Bulgarian: ми́нал (bg) (mínal)
• Catalan: passat (ca)
• Czech: minulý (cs)
• Dutch: voorbij (nl), voorbije (nl), afgelopen (nl)
• Finnish: mennyt (fi)
• French: passé (fr)
• Galician: pasado
• German: vergangen (de)
• Gothic: 𐌹𐌽𐍅𐌹𐍃𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 (inwisands)
• Greek: περασμένος (el) (perasménos), παρελθών (parelthón), πρότερος (el) (próteros), πρωτύτερος (el) (protýteros), τα περασμένα n pl (ta perasména)

  Ancient: παρελθών (parelthṓn)

• Hungarian: korábbi (hu), egykori (hu), előző (hu), régebbi (hu)
• Ido: pasinta (io)
• Irish: caite
• Italian: passato (it)
• Korean: 지나다 (ko) (jinada), 지나가다 (ko) (jinagada)
• Latin: praeteritus
• Latvian: pagājis
• Macedonian: изминат (izminat), минат (minat)
• Maltese: passat (mt)
• Norman: pâssé
• Occitan: passat (oc)
• Old English: forþġewiten
• Polish: przeszły (pl), ubiegły (pl), miniony (pl)
• Portuguese: passado (pt)
• Romanian: trecut (ro)
• Russian: про́шлый (ru) (próšlyj), мину́вший (ru) (minúvšij), уше́дший (ru) (ušédšij), проше́дший (ru) (prošédšij)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: прошли

  Roman: prošli (sh)

• Slovak: minulý
• Slovene: minuli
• Spanish: pasado (es)
• Sundanese: harita
• Swedish: förgången (sv), förfluten (sv)
• Telugu: పూర్వపు (pūrvapu), జరిగింది (te) (jarigindi)
• Tocharian B: atit
• Turkish: geçmiş (tr)
• Ukrainian: мину́лий (uk) (mynúlyj)

ago — see ago

of a period of time: having just gone by

• Armenian: անցյալ (hy) (ancʻyal)
• Bulgarian: изминал (bg) (izminal)
• Czech: minulý (cs)
• Dutch: voorbij (nl), voorbije (nl)
• Finnish: viime (fi)
• French: dernier (fr), passé (fr)
• Galician: pasado
• Greek: περασμένος (el) (perasménos), παρελθών (parelthón), πρώην (el) (próin), τέως (el) (téos), πρότερος (el) (próteros), πρωτύτερος (el) (protýteros)
• Hungarian: elmúlt (hu), múlt (hu), előző (hu)
• Korean: 이전(以前)의 (ijeon-ui)
• Portuguese: passado (pt)
• Russian: уше́дший (ru) (ušédšij), проше́дший (ru) (prošédšij)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: прошли

  Roman: prošli (sh)

• Sundanese: harita
• Telugu: గత (gata)
• Turkish: geçen (tr), geçtiğimiz, önceki (tr)

grammar: expressing action that has already happened

• Czech: minulý (cs)
• Dutch: voorbij (nl), voorbije (nl), verleden (nl)
• Finnish: mennyt (fi)
• French: passé (fr)
• Galician: pasado
• Greek: παρελθοντικός (el) (parelthontikós)
• Hungarian: múlt (hu)
• Irish: caite
• Italian: passato (it)
• Korean: 과거(過去)의 (gwageo-ui)
• Norman: pâssé
• Old English: forþġewiten
• Portuguese: passado (pt), pretérito (pt)
• Romanian: (de/despre) trecut (ro)
• Russian: про́шлый (ru) (próšlyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: прошли

  Roman: prošli (sh)

• Telugu: గతకాలం (gatakālaṁ)

Adverb

past (comparative more past, superlative most past)

1. In a direction that passes.

   Synonym: by

   I watched him walk past

Translations

in a direction that passes

• Bulgarian: покрай (bg) (pokraj)
• Catalan: més enllà
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 经过 (zh) (jīngguò)

• Dutch: voorbij (nl)
• Finnish: ohi (fi)
• French: devant (fr)
• German: vorbei (de)
• Greek: επέκεινα (el) (epékeina), πέρα (el) (péra)
• Hungarian: mellette…el
• Irish: thar bráid
• Italian: davanti (it)
• Latin: praeter (la)
• Portuguese: por (aqui)
• Russian: ми́мо (ru) (mímo)
• Scottish Gaelic: seachad
• Spanish: por (es), por delante
• Telugu: పోయింది (pōyindi)
• Ukrainian: повз (povz)
• Welsh: heibio

Preposition

past

1. Beyond in place or quantity

   the room past mine

   count past twenty

2. (time) Any number of minutes after the last hour

   What's the time? - It's now quarter past twelve midday (or 12.15pm).

   Antonym: to

   • 2012 April 22, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0-1 West Brom”, in BBC Sport‎^[2]:

     But they were stunned when Glen Johnson's error let in Peter Odemwingie to fire past Pepe Reina on 75 minutes.

3. No longer capable of.

   I'm past caring what he thinks of me.

4. Having recovered or moved on from (a traumatic experience, etc.).
5. Passing by, especially without stopping or being delayed.

   Ignore them, we'll play past them.

   Please don't drive past the fruit stand, I want to stop there.

Derived terms

• see past
• see past the end of one's nose
• whistle past

Translations

beyond in place

• Arabic: بَعْدَ (ar) (baʕda)

  Egyptian Arabic: بعد (baʕd)

• Bulgarian: край (bg) (kraj)
• Dutch: voorbij (nl), verder (nl)
• Esperanto: preter (eo)
• Finnish: jälkeen (fi)
• French: après (fr)
• German: nach (de), hinter (de)
• Greek: πέρα (el) (péra)
• Hungarian: (beyond) túl (hu), (after) után (hu), (next to) mellett (hu)
• Irish: tar éis, i ndiaidh
• Norwegian: forbi (no), bortenfor (no)
• Portuguese: além de (pt), depois de
• Scottish Gaelic: seach, an dèidh
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: mimo

• Swedish: förbi (sv)
• Telugu: వెనుక (te) (venuka)

beyond in quantity

• German: über (de)

beyond in time

• Finnish: yli (fi)
• German: nach (de)
• Hungarian: múlt (hu)
• Ingrian: yli
• Swedish: över (sv)

no longer capable of

• German: jenseits sein von, darüber hinweg sein

having recovered

• German: darüber hinweg sein

passing by

• Dutch: voorbij (nl)
• German: vorbei (de), vorüber (de), dahinter (de) (in rare cases)
• Norwegian: forbi (no)
• Swedish: förbi (sv)

Verb

past

1. (obsolete) simple past and past participle of pass
   • 1632, John Vicars, The XII Aeneids of Virgil:

     Great Tuscane dames, as she their towns past by, / Wisht her their daughter-in-law, but frustrately.

Related terms

• a hair past a freckle
• blow past
• breeze past
• brush past
• by-past
• file past
• first past the post
• fly-past
• get past
• get past oneself
• ghost from one's past
• go past
• half past
• half-past-six
• let past
• live in the past
• look past
• look past the end of one's nose
• look past the tip of one's nose
• march-past
• march past
• non-past
• past exonerative
• past historic tense
• past imperfect tense
• past it
• past iterative
• past-life
• past life
• past-master
• past master
• past mistress
• past one's prime
• past paper
• past participial
• past perfect continuous
• past perfect progressive
• past-posting
• past redemption
• past time
• pea-time is past
• push past
• put it past
• put one past
• put past
• reach past
• run past, runpast
• see past the tip of one's nose
• sell past the close
• simple-past
• slip one past
• smuggle past
• sneak past
• talk past
• the mill cannot grind with water that is past
• tick past
• unsorted (terms derived from any part of speech, should be placed in the relevant section)
• whistle past the graveyard

 

Anagrams

• ATSP, PTSA, TAPs, ap'ts, PATs, Apts, TAPS, PSAT, taps, spat, APTs, apts., ATPs, TPAs, ptas., Pats, stap, PTAs, pats, APTS, apts, Taps

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *pastь,

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpast]
• Rhymes: -ast

Noun

past f

1. trap (a device designed to catch and sometimes kill animals)

   past na myši ― mousetrap

Declension

Declension of past (mixed i-stem [type 'pěst'] feminine)

	singular	plural
nominative	past	pasti
genitive	pasti	pastí
dative	pasti	pastím, pastem
accusative	past	pasti
vocative	pasti	pasti
locative	pasti	pastích, pastech
instrumental	pastí	pastmi

Derived terms

• pastička

 

See also

• léčka
• záloha
• nástraha
• úskalí

Further reading

• “past”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “past”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “past”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech)

Anagrams

• spát
• psát

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑst
• IPA^(key): /pɑst/

Verb

past

1. inflection of passen:
   1. second/third-person singular present indicative
   2. (archaic) plural imperative

Anagrams

• spat, stap, taps

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French past, from Latin pastus (“pasture”).

Noun

past m (plural pasts)

1. food, meal
   • 1537, Giles du Guez, quoting John Palsgrave (c. 1485–1554), An Introductorie for to lerne to speke Frenche trewly :

     Verité est le past de l'ame.

     Truth is the food of the soul.

   • 1583, Claude Gruget, Diverses leçons :

     Il dit aussi que les choux mangez avant le past gardent d'enyvrer.

     He also says that cabbage, when eaten before a meal, reduces how much one gets drunk.

Old French

Alternative forms

• paist, pest, pas

Etymology

From Latin pastus (“pasture”), probably influenced by paste (“dough, pastry”).

Noun

past oblique singular, m (nominative singular past)

1. food, meal
   • ca. 1268, Étienne Boileau (ca. 1210–1270), Livre des métiers :

     Por son abuvrement et por son past.

     For him to drink and for his food.

Descendants

• Middle French: past

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpast/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ast
• Syllabification: past

Noun

past f

1. genitive plural of pasta

Slovene

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *pastь.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /páːst/

Noun

pȃst f

1. trap

Inflection

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Feminine, i-stem, long mixed accent
nom. sing.	pást
gen. sing.	pastí
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	pást	pastí	pastí
genitive (rodȋlnik)	pastí	pastí	pastí
dative (dajȃlnik)	pásti	pastéma	pastém
accusative (tožȋlnik)	pást	pastí	pastí
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	pásti	pastéh	pastéh
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	pastjó	pastéma	pastmí

Verb

pȃst

1. supine of pásti

Further reading

• “past”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2024