bygone

alternative dated by-gone

1. not comparableHaving been or happened in the distant past.

   Near by he could see the thicket of raspberry canes, growing tall and close like a tropical jungle, in whose shadow he had played with the Boy on bygone mornings.

   1922, Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

   3 more examples

   I had thought (Sir) to haue held my peace, vntill You had drawne Oathes from him, not to ſtay: you (Sir) Charge him too coldly. Tell him, you are ſure All in Bohemias well: this ſatisfaction, The ''by-gone-day proclaym'd, ſay this to him, He's beat from his beſt ward.

   c. 1610–1611' (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 277, column 2

   Travellers over the London & North Western main line in bygone days will need no reminder of the pattering of cinders on the carriage roofs, the fountains of sparks from the chimneys at night and the distance from which the exhaust of approaching locomotives could be heard, due to the fierceness of their blast in such conditions.

   1962 June, Cecil J. Allen, “Locomotive Running Past and Present”, in Modern Railways, page 399

   The modern, glass-fronted buildings surrounding the massive skyscraper Taipei 101 in the Xinyi District suggest a shift toward cleaner, starker development, but a trip to older parts of the city reveals hidden corners untouched by modernity. The oldest section, Wanhua, with its winding corridors and quiet decay, offers a glimpse of the city’s bygone days. At its bustling heart is the busy Longshan Temple. I bump past a flurry of tourists, worshipers and monks selling prayer beads outside the gates to reach the controlled chaos within, where hundreds of faithful light incense and present offerings at myriad shrines to Buddha and other deities.

   2011 April 8, Erin Meister, “Reveling in the real Taiwain^([sic – meaning Taiwan])”, in The Washington Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 Apr 2023, Travel

   Synonyms: foregone, historical

plural bygones · alternative dated by-gone

1. plural normallyAn event that happened in the past.

   Jennie Fox watched it with thoughtful pleasure, and the rest were chatting and telling of bygones, enjoying a glass of egg-hot; it being a custom for them to partake of this beverage on this particular night.

   1881, Pearl Hyem, The fisherman's cove; or, Christianity realised, page 54

2. plural normallyAn object from the past; a relic, antique, etc.

   And now just as the Victorians collected the minute objects with which to fill these houses, so today grown-ups are paying large sums for these bygones, while the children are given more modern houses to play with.

   1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 200