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.
“Having a communal, shared experience with a classic story that still reminds us of ourselves, it gives us the opportunity to realize that since time immemorial, we’ve all asked the same questions,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2026
A private island passed by boaters and rowers on the Thames since time immemorial has gone up for sale.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2025
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
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
Not only have you been lucky enough to be attached since time immemorial to a favored evolutionary line, but you have also been extremely–make that miraculously–fortunate in your personal ancestry.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
