Yesteryear
/ˈjɛs.tər.jɪr/noun
The recent past or former times.
Did you know?Yesteryear is a relatively modern poetic coinage, built from the old words for “yesterday” and “year,” and it became popular in the 1800s as a nostalgic way to summon the past.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
gēostran dæg
“the day before today”
Old English
OE
gēar
“year”
Middle English
ME
yester
“of or pertaining to yesterday; former”
19th Century
English
yesteryear
“a poetic or nostalgic term for the recent past”
Modern English
English
yesteryear
“the past, especially the recent past”