Grammar. = past, adj. 4; expressing past action or a past state; (in later use) designating the simple past tense of a verb.

Grammar. Designating or relating to a verbal tense which denotes a completed action. See sense B. 3a.

Grammar. Expressing past action or state; = preterite, adj. 2. Chiefly in preter tense (frequently written as one word in early use).

Grammar. Chiefly attributive. Of a tense: expressing an action that has happened or a state that previously existed; designating a form of that…

Grammar. Of, relating to, or using the preterite; used only in the preterite tenses. In later use, chiefly in preteritive present, n. adj.