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preterite

/ ˈprɛtərɪt /

noun

  1. a tense of verbs used to relate past action, formed in English by inflection of the verb, as jumped, swam
  2. a verb in this tense
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


adjective

  1. denoting this tense
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of preterite1

C14: from Late Latin praeteritum ( tempus ) past (time, tense), from Latin praeterīre to go by, from preter- + īre to go
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Example Sentences

Fortunately, they are drawn from a pathetic preterite far beneath the contempt of our cultural elite.

The preterite of the German dialect is formed by adding ium to the imperative, which is always the root of the verb.

As the usual preterite was heryed (hr-y-ed-e being too cumbrous and almost unpronounceable), there is no error.

Preterite, pret′ėr-it, adj. gone by: past: noting the past tense.

The addition of the sound of t helps to form the Irn preterite.

In many Bantu dialects the root pa (which means to give) becomes pele in the preterite (no doubt from an original pa-ile).

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preteritpreterition