Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: French
Origin: prétérit, from Latin praeteritus, past participle of praeterire 'to go past'

preterite

 noun
     
pret‧er‧ite also preterit American English

the preterite

technicalSLG the tense or verb form that expresses a past action or condition
—preterite adjective
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary