antepast

American

[an-ti-past] / ˈæn tɪˌpæst /

noun

Archaic.

a foretaste; appetizer.

Etymology

Origin of antepast

1580–90; ante- + Latin pāstus food (originally past participle of pāscere to feed), equivalent to pās- feed + -tus past participle suffix

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Previous view or impression of what is to happen; instinctive prevision; foretaste; antepast; as, the anticipation of the joys of heaven.

From Project Gutenberg

Is not the knowledge now possessed by the Saints, glorious though it be, but a foretaste, the antepast of a greater feast of knowledge yet to follow?

From Project Gutenberg

The mildness of the sentence was an antepast of a more enlarged liberty under the new form of government.

From Project Gutenberg

Expectation may be either of good or evil; presentiment almost always, apprehension and foreboding always, of evil; anticipation and antepast, commonly of good.

From Project Gutenberg

In the dear amenities of home and its dulcet loves; in the elevating pleasures of society; in the instructing pursuits of science, duty, and daily life; in the cultivation of every personal virtue and every Gospel grace, we may enjoy in this life a sweet antepast of heaven.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023