Autrefois
/o.tʁə.fwa/noun
Formerly; in former times.
Did you know?Autrefois preserves the medieval French habit of expressing time through turns or occasions, inherited from Latin vicis, the root behind English “vicissitude.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*al-tero-
“The other of two; the second one”
Classical Latin
Latin
alter
“The other; one of two”
Classical Latin
Latin
vicem
“A turn, occasion, or time; the accusative form of vicis”
Old French
Old French
autre feiz
“At another time; formerly”
12th–13th Century
Middle French
autrefois
“Formerly; in times past”
Modern French
French
autrefois
“Formerly; in former times”
Modern English
English
autrefois
“Formerly, used chiefly in literary or historical contexts”