Yesteryear

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈjÉ›stÉ™jɪə/

Alternative forms

• yester-year

Origin

Compound of - + year. Coined by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, to translate Middle French antan ("last year") (in 's Testament), from Vulgar Latin *anteannum ("the year before").

Full definition of yesteryear

Noun

1. (poetic) Past years; time gone by; yore.
2. (rare) Last year.
• 1928, D. H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley's Lover, ch. 5:Where are the snows of yesteryear?