immemorial

[ im-uh-mawr-ee-uhl, -mohr- ]

adjective

1. extending back beyond memory, record, or knowledge:

   from time immemorial.

   Synonyms: olden, ageless, ancient, timeless

immemorial

/ ˌɪmɪˈmɔːrɪəl /

adjective

1. originating in the distant past; ancient (postpositive in the phrase time immemorial )

Derived Forms

• ˌimmeˈmorially, adverb

Other Words From

• imme·mori·al·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of immemorial¹

From the Medieval Latin word immemoriālis, dating back to 1595–1605. See im- ², memorial

Word History and Origins

Origin of immemorial¹

C17: from Medieval Latin immemoriālis, from Latin im- (not) + memoria memory

Idioms and Phrases

see time immemorial .

Example Sentences

But the film, which hit theaters this Friday, is an attempt to upend many of the narrative tropes that have defined stories about disfigured and disabled people since time immemorial.

From Salon

“We follow the Santa Ana river, so this goes back to time immemorial that we’ve been aware of this sacred ceremonial space.”

From Los Angeles Times

“This is a down payment on the state’s commitment to do better by the Native American communities who have called this land home since time immemorial,” Newsom said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times

His last project was “In France Profound: The Long History of a House, a Mountain Town, and a People,” a book to be published in August about his house in the southwest of France, the village in which it is situated and the deep connections he discovered there with France’s immemorial past.

From New York Times

So being allowed to live on federally designated land — in a region where they had been nature’s proud stewards since time immemorial — represented a bittersweet milestone.

From Los Angeles Times