bygone

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈbaɪˌɡɔn/ UK /ˈbaɪˌɡɒn/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
belonging to an earlier time that has passed

She spoke fondly of bygone days at the seaside.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · belonging to an earlier... past former departed olden erstwhile ancient obsolete

Opposites

present current future modern

Word family

Related forms by gone

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

let bygones be bygones
To forgive and forget past disagreements.

Etymology

A compound of by (in the sense 'past, gone by') + gone, the past participle of go. Both elements are native, from Old English bi and gan.

bi Middle English gan Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# bygone

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈbaɪˌɡɔn/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbaɪˌɡɒn/

## Meanings
1. belonging to an earlier time that has passed

## Examples
- She spoke fondly of bygone days at the seaside.

## Synonyms
- past
- former
- departed
- olden
- erstwhile
- ancient
- obsolete

## Antonyms
- present
- current
- future
- modern

## Related Forms
- by
- gone

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bi
- Root: gan

## Etymology
A compound of by (in the sense 'past, gone by') + gone, the past participle of go. Both elements are native, from Old English bi and gan.

## AI Etymology
Bygone is an adjective and noun meaning "belonging to an earlier time that has passed". Historically, it is a compound of by (in the sense 'past, gone by') + gone, the past participle of go. Both elements are native, from Old English bi and gan. The visible construction is part of the etymology: bygone is not just an unanalyzed simple word. The semantic history matters here: the earlier use is the starting point, and the modern sense, "belonging to an earlier time that has passed", is the later or specialized English value. The historical chain links Old English bi with Old English gan. Close English family members include by, and gone.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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