foretime

American  

[fawr-tahym, fohr-] / ˈfɔrˌtaɪm, ˈfoʊr- /

noun

1. former or past time; the past.

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foretime British  

/ ˈfɔːˌtaɪm /

noun

1. time already gone; the past

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Etymology

Origin of foretime

First recorded in 1530–40; fore- + time

Example Sentences

It has shown some reasonable basis for the most superstitious aberrations of the foretime.

From The Will to Believe : and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy by James, William

Two great anatomists built up the structure of scientific human anatomy on the rather good foundation that had been laid on animal anatomy in the foretime.

From Education: How Old The New by Walsh, James J.

So he sat and sang, like unto a seer out of the foretime to look upon; Jeremiah, the Ancient, seemed to have risen out of his grave.

From Selections from the Prose Works of Matthew Arnold by Johnson, William Savage

Whatever might be the feigned facts of the Grecian foretime, they were altogether outdone in antiquity and wonder by the actual history of Egypt.

From History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, Volume I (of 2) Revised Edition by Draper, John William

They are gods, these kings of the foretime, they are spirits who guard our race: Ever I watch and worship--they sit with a marble face.

From Mosaics of Grecian History by Willson, Marcius