pret·er·ite /ˈprɛtərət/
(a.)過去式的;過去的
Pret·er·it a. [Written also preterite and præterite.]
1. Gram. Past; -- applied to a tense which expresses an action or state as past.
2. Belonging wholly to the past; passed by. [R.]
Things and persons as thoroughly preterite as Romulus or Numa. --Lowell.
Pret·er·ite a. & n. Same as Preterit.
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preterite
n : a term formerly used to refer to the simple past tense [syn:
preterit]