yester-

/ˈjɛstə(ɹ)/

prefix

Belonging to the day preceding the present; next before the present.

OriginMiddle English yester- ← Old English ġeostran- ← Proto-West Germanic *gesteran →
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

prefix
  1. rareBelonging to the day preceding the present; next before the present.
  2. Of former, earlier, or previous times.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*dʰǵʰyés“yesterday”
  2. Proto-Germanic*gesteraz“yesterday”
  3. Proto-West Germanic*gesteran
  4. Old Englishġeostran-
  5. Middle Englishyester-
  6. Englishyester-

From Middle English yester-, yister-, from Old English ġeostran-, ġiestran- (“previous day, prior day”), from Proto-West Germanic *gesteran, from Proto-Germanic *gesteraz (“yesterday”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰǵʰyés (“yesterday”). Compare Dutch gisteren, German gestern (“yesterday”), Gothic 𐌲𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍂𐌰𐌳𐌰𐌲𐌹𐍃 (gistradagis, “tomorrow”), Latin hesternus (“of yesterday”), Ancient Greek χθές (khthés, “yesterday”), Sanskrit ह्यस् (hyás, “yesterday”). More at yesterday.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

yester-. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yester-

MLA

“yester-.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yester-. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “yester-,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yester-.

Source: yester- on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.