time immemorial

noun

1. Also called time out of mind. time in the distant past beyond memory or record.

   Those carvings have been there from time immemorial.

2. Law.,  time beyond legal memory, fixed by statute in England as prior to the beginning of the reign of Richard I (1189).

time immemorial

noun

1. the distant past beyond memory or record

2. law time beyond legal memory, fixed by English statute as before the reign of Richard I (1189)

Word History and Origins

Origin of time immemorial¹

First recorded in 1595–1605

Idioms and Phrases

Also, time out of mind. Long ago, beyond memory or recall, as in These ruins have stood here since time immemorial, or His office has been on Madison Avenue for time out of mind. The first expression comes from English law, where it signifies “beyond legal memory,” specifically before the reign of Richard I (1189–1199), fixed as the legal limit for bringing certain kinds of lawsuit. By about 1600 it was broadened to its present sense of “a very long time ago.” The variant, first recorded in 1432, uses mind in the sense of “memory” or “recall.”