bygone

[bahy-gawn, -gon]

adjective

1. past; gone by; earlier; former.

   The faded photograph brought memories of bygone days.

noun

1. Usually bygones. that which is past.

   Let's not talk of bygones.

bygone

/ ˈbaɪˌɡɒn /

adjective

1. (usually prenominal) past; former

noun

1. (often plural) a past occurrence

2. (often plural) an artefact, implement, etc, of former domestic or industrial use, now often collected for interest

3. to agree to forget past quarrels

Word History and Origins

Origin of bygone¹

1375–1425; late Middle English (north) by-gane; gone, by

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. let bygones be bygones, to decide to forget past disagreements; become reconciled.

   Let's let bygones be bygones and be friends again.

Example Sentences

For millennia, sensational accounts like these were all that was known about these bygone backwaters of the ancient world.

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At the team’s center is Dombrowski—a product of a bygone generation who remains as relevant today as ever.

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Like is fellow crew, his words hark back to a bygone space age, and the words of then President John F. Kennedey in 1962:

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It sounds like football from a bygone era.

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Seems like yesterday and also like a bygone era, right?

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