time immemorial

American  

noun

1. Also called time out of mind.  time in the distant past beyond memory or record.

   Those carvings have been there from time immemorial.

2. Law. time beyond legal memory, fixed by statute in England as prior to the beginning of the reign of Richard I (1189).

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time immemorial British  

noun

1. the distant past beyond memory or record

2. law time beyond legal memory, fixed by English statute as before the reign of Richard I (1189)

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time immemorial Idioms  

1. Also, time out of mind. Long ago, beyond memory or recall, as in These ruins have stood here since time immemorial, or His office has been on Madison Avenue for time out of mind. The first expression comes from English law, where it signifies “beyond legal memory,” specifically before the reign of Richard I (1189–1199), fixed as the legal limit for bringing certain kinds of lawsuit. By about 1600 it was broadened to its present sense of “a very long time ago.” The variant, first recorded in 1432, uses mind in the sense of “memory” or “recall.”

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Etymology

Origin of time immemorial

First recorded in 1595–1605

Example Sentences

Time immemorial, they have been famous for making the best friends in the world; and even to us, who are their natural enemies, they are generous in our distress.

From Tales and Novels — Volume 06 by Edgeworth, Maria

Before then, the Kingly Power had been Time immemorial, or to speak in their Language, eternally in one and the same Family.

From The Travels and Adventures of James Massey by Patot, Simon Tyssot de