preterite
/ˈpɹɛtəɹɪt/adjective, noun
preterite is spelled P-R-E-T-E-R-I-T-E: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 11 million words in written English, the 101,613th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, preterite means “Showing an action at a determined moment in the past” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in preterite?
| Letters | 9: P-R-E-T-E-R-I-T-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 11 million words; the 101,613th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is preterite?
Preterite appears about once in every 11 million words in written English, the 101,613th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce preterite?
- /ˈpɹɛtəɹɪt/
- /ˈpɹɛtəɹət/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-preterite.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-preterite2.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of preterite
- preterit
- praeterite
- præterite
- pret.
- preterites plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does preterite mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Showing an action at a determined moment in the past.
- 2
Belonging wholly to the past; passed by.
noun
- 1
A grammatical tense or verb form serving to denote events that took place or were completed in the past.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate preterite?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of preterite: pret..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Preterite in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | du passé , prétérit |
| Portuguese | pretérito |
| Spanish | pretérito |
| German | Mitvergangenheit, Präteritum |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does preterite come from?
From Middle English preterit, from Old French preterit (13th century), from Latin praeteritum (as in tempus praeteritum (“time past”)), the past participle of praetereō (“to go by, go past”), itself from praeter (“beyond, before, above, more than”) (comparative of prae (“before”)) + itum (the past participle of eō (“to go”)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).