pluperfect

[ ploo-pur-fikt ]

/ pluˈpɜr fɪkt /

adjective

Grammar.

perfect with respect to a point of reference in past time, as had done in He had done it when I came.
designating a tense or other verb formation or construction with such meaning, as Latin portāveram “I had carried.”

more than perfect: He spoke the language with pluperfect precision.

noun Grammar.

the pluperfect tense, or other verb formation or construction with such meaning.
a form in the pluperfect.

Nearby words

Origin of pluperfect

1520–30; < Latin plū(s quam) perfectum (more than) perfect, translation of Greek hypersyntelikós

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pluperfect

The perfect and pluperfect subjunctives are of course formed by means of the subjunctive present and past tenses of "have."
Practical Exercises in English|Huber Gray Buehler
The rest as the pluperfect of gwîl, or of menny, to will, with the infinitive.
A Handbook of the Cornish Language|Henry Jenner
He was an old-timer in the vicinity and related the past, present, and pluperfect of all the residents on the route.
Our Next-Door Neighbors|Belle Kanaris Maniates
The Subjunctive (Imperfect or Pluperfect) to denote the situation or circumstances under which something occurs.
New Latin Grammar|Charles E. Bennett

Lhuyd gives a pluperfect beazen, beazes, etc. corresponding with the Welsh buaswn, but it does not appear to be used.
A Handbook of the Cornish Language|Henry Jenner

British Dictionary definitions for pluperfect

pluperfect

/ (pluːˈpɜːfɪkt) /

adjective, noun

grammar another term for past perfect

Word Origin for pluperfect

C16: from the Latin phrase plūs quam perfectum more than perfect

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pluperfect

pluperfect

adj.

1520s, shortened from Latin (tempus praeteritum) plus (quam) perfectum "(past tense) more (than) perfect." Translates Greek khronos hypersyntelikos. See plus and perfect.