yesteryear

[yes-ter-yeer, -yeer]

See more synonyms for yesteryear on Thesaurus.com

noun

last year.
the recent years; time not long past.

adverb

during time not long past.

Origin of yesteryear

yester- + year; apparently introduced by D.G. Rossetti (1870) to render Middle French antan (Villon)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for yesteryear

Contemporary Examples

But the question is, could a thawing of relations result in a return to the mobbed-up action of yesteryear?
Will Hyman Roth Return to Havana With Normalized Relations?
John L. Smith
December 18, 2014
Or a horse and carriage, like the one driven a young man in a tweed suit and cap from yesteryear, as he gazed up at the stars.
The Crazy Medieval Island of Sark
Liza Foreman
October 4, 2014
There were boyish suits from yesteryear with puffy white sleeves and fur collars worn by androgynous creatures with white faces.
Valentino, Chanel, and Alexander McQueen at Paris Fashion Week
Liza Foreman
March 4, 2014
I could use this opportunity to become as stylish and perhaps as divine as many of the heroines of yesteryear.
A Breast Cancer Alphabet: F Is For Fashion Accessories
Madhulika Sikka
February 23, 2014
But here the design resembled something from track practice on a muddy English lawn from yesteryear, rather than high-tech Adidas.
Viktor & Rolf's Prep School
Liza Foreman
September 28, 2013

Historical Examples

That was the word the sloppy copyist of yesteryear had wrongly transcribed.
G-r-r-r...!
Roger Arcot
Yesteryear he was mad for the open air, and the games, and the joy of life.
The God of Love
Justin Huntly McCarthy
In that moment books and plays seemed like the snows of yesteryear.
May Iverson's Career
Elizabeth Jordan
Oh, well, all flesh is grass, and there is no grass of yesteryear.
The Little Lady of the Big House
Jack London
Like the lovers of yesteryear, those of to-day were prisoners.
The Golden Triangle
Maurice Leblanc

British Dictionary definitions for yesteryear

yesteryear

noun

last year or the past in general

adverb

during last year or the past in general

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 yesteryear

n.

coined 1870 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti from yester(day) + year to translate French antan (from Vulgar Latin *anteannum "the year before") in a refrain by François Villon: Mais ou sont les neiges d'antan? which Rossetti rendered "But where are the snows of yesteryear?"

yesteryear

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}yesteryear

Examples from the Web for yesteryear

Contemporary Examples

But the question is, could a thawing of relations result in a return to the mobbed-up action of yesteryear?

Or a horse and carriage, like the one driven a young man in a tweed suit and cap from yesteryear, as he gazed up at the stars.

There were boyish suits from yesteryear with puffy white sleeves and fur collars worn by androgynous creatures with white faces.

I could use this opportunity to become as stylish and perhaps as divine as many of the heroines of yesteryear.

But here the design resembled something from track practice on a muddy English lawn from yesteryear, rather than high-tech Adidas.

Historical Examples

That was the word the sloppy copyist of yesteryear had wrongly transcribed.

Yesteryear he was mad for the open air, and the games, and the joy of life.

In that moment books and plays seemed like the snows of yesteryear.

Oh, well, all flesh is grass, and there is no grass of yesteryear.

Like the lovers of yesteryear, those of to-day were prisoners.

yesteryear

Word Origin and History for yesteryear

n.

Origin of yesteryear