Jump To:

• long-ago
  long-ago

  adjective

  of or relating to the distant past or to remote events; ancient.
• long ago
  long ago

  A time well before the present, the distant past. For example, I read that book long ago, or The battles of long ago were just as fierce. [Second half of 1300s]

long-ago

American  

[lawng-uh-goh, long-] / ˈlɔŋ əˌgoʊ, ˈlɒŋ- /

adjective

1. of or relating to the distant past or to remote events; ancient.

   long-ago exploits remembered only in folk tales.

---

long ago Idioms  

1. A time well before the present, the distant past. For example, I read that book long ago, or The battles of long ago were just as fierce. [Second half of 1300s]

---

Etymology

Origin of long-ago

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

Like Ted, Greg is also recovering from a long-ago divorce, but what forces him out of his shell is the implosion of his daughter’s.

From Salon • May 11, 2026

If it weren’t for the long-ago gift of some 3,000 gorgeous sylvan acres from a cranky jailbird with a civic conscience and a large and very taxable real estate portfolio, we wouldn’t have Griffith Park.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

Unlike the long-ago transition to the cloud, which undid many existing software firms, incumbents aren’t being complacent this time around.

From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026

It isn’t on the table at the moment, but remember Tesla’s long-ago solar combination.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026

“We’re living right in the middle of history,” my father would say, but it seemed to me I could understand long-ago history better than history today.

From "Homesick" by Jean Fritz

Related Words

• earlier
• early
• late
• old
• preceding
• previous
• prior
• recent