immemorial
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of immemorial
From the Medieval Latin word immemoriālis, dating back to 1595–1605. See im- 2, memorial
Explanation
Anything immemorial is very, very old. You're most likely to hear this word in the phrase "time immemorial," a common way to say "so long ago that no one remembers it." The French immémorial means "old beyond memory," from a Latin root. Don't confuse this adjective with immemorable, which is sometimes used instead, but which literally means "not worth remembering." Immemorial is a perfect way to describe ancient things, including stories, customs, religions, and even time itself.
Vocabulary lists containing immemorial
This Week in Words: March 30–April 5, 2019
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Ancient Wisdom: Synonyms for "Old"
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"The Witch Boy" by Molly Knox Ostertag
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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.
There is a robust consensus among scholars that politics in Iran begins with the idea of Iran as a people with a continuous and unbroken history, a nation that “looms out of an immemorial past.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2025
One would think the viruses and bacteria that have tormented humanity since time immemorial would never find a friend in the species — human beings — they so routinely sicken and kill.
From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2025
Researchers compared the genomes of the modern and historic individuals and found they belong to a unified lineage, supporting Blackfoot oral traditions that attest to their people’s presence here since time immemorial.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 3, 2024
This park, and all of Nunavut, is Inuit Nunangat -- Inuit homeland in Canada -- and the park protects sites and biodiversity stewarded by Inuit since time immemorial.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2024
Everywhere he looked, he saw a world made of stories, the long ago, time immemorial stories, as old Grandma called them.
From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
