A term formerly used to refer to the simple past tense

The Collaborative International Dictionary Word definitions in The Collaborative International Dictionary
Preterit \Pret"er*it\ (?; 277), a. [L. praeteritus, p. p. of praeterire to go or pass by; praeter beyond, by + ire to go: cf. F. pr['e]t['e]rit. See Issue .] [Written also preterite and pr[ae]terite .] (Gram.) Past; -- applied to a tense which ...

WordNet Word definitions in WordNet
n. a term formerly used to refer to the simple past tense [syn: preterit ]

Wikipedia Word definitions in Wikipedia
The preterite (in US English also preterit ) is a grammatical tense or verb form serving to denote events that took place or were completed in the past. In general, it combines the perfective aspect (event viewed as a single whole; it is not to be confused ...

Wiktionary Word definitions in Wiktionary
a. 1 (context grammar of a tense English) showing an action at a determined moment in the past. 2 Belonging wholly to the past; passed by. n. (context grammar English) The preterite tense, simple past tense: the grammatical tense that determines the specific ...

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary Word definitions in Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
mid-14c., "having to do with the past," from Old French preterit "past tense" (13c.) and directly from Latin praeteritum (as in tempus praeteritum "time past"), past participle of praeterire "to go by, go past," from praeter "beyond, before, above, more ...