time immemorial

American  

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).

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time immemorial British  

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)

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time immemorial Idioms  

1. 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.”

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Etymology

Origin of time immemorial

First recorded in 1595–1605

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

time immemorial

"Uganda has been ready for a civilian leader since time immemorial," he insists, adding that according to Uganda's constitution, the military must be subordinate to the civilian authority.

From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2026

But the film, which hit theaters this Friday, is an attempt to upend many of the narrative tropes that have defined stories about disfigured and disabled people since time immemorial.

From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2024

So being allowed to live on federally designated land — in a region where they had been nature’s proud stewards since time immemorial — represented a bittersweet milestone.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2024

Blackfoot people know that their ancestors, since time immemorial, have lived across the Rocky Mountains’s eastern slopes and adjacent plains of what is now Montana, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 3, 2024

Merchants had been making and losing money since time immemorial.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton