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Definition: Yesterday |
YesterdayAdverb1. On the day preceding today; "yesterday the weather was beautiful". 2. In the recent past; only a short time ago; "I was not born yesterday!". Noun1. The day immediately before today; "it was in yesterday's newspapers". 2. The recent past; "yesterday's solutions are not good enough"; "we shared many yesterdays". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "yesterday" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1050. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Satire | YESTERDAY, n. The infancy of youth, the youth of manhood, the entire past of age. But yesterday I should have thought me blest To stand high-pinnacled upon the peak Of middle life and look adown the bleak And unfamiliar foreslope to the West, Where solemn shadows all the land invest And stilly voices, half-remembered, speak Unfinished prophecy, and witch-fires freak The haunted twilight of the Dark of Rest. Yea, yesterday my soul was all aflame To stay the shadow on the dial's face At manhood's noonmark! Now, in God His name I chide aloud the little interspace Disparting me from Certitude, and fain Would know the dream and vision ne'er again. Baruch Arnegriff It is said that in his last illness the poet Arnegriff was attended at different times by seven doctors. Source: Devil's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Yesterday is the title of a 1965 song by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney) and recorded by The Beatles for their album Help. "Yesterday" is the first song recorded by the Beatles that featured only one band member performing or singing on the recording.The song has become the most recorded song in history, appearing in the Guinness Book of Records, with over 3000 released recorded versions by artists from every end of the music spectrum. Artists that have recorded the song include Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Dionne Warwick, Boyz II Men and others. The song was named the greatest pop song since 1963 by MTV and Rolling Stone magazine. It is also the song that has received the most airplay year after year.
McCartney, while staying with his friends the Ashers, woke up one morning with the complete tune for "Yesterday" in his head. Although the dream song had no lyric at this point, McCartney was worried that he might be unconsciously plagiarizing someone else's song. He began to perform the song for anyone that would listen, asking them if they had ever heard it before. Time after time, listeners would compliment McCartney on the tune but say that they had never heard it before. In July of 2003, there was speculation that McCartney may have been thinking of the Nat King Cole song Answer Me, which has similar lyrics and a similar rhyming scheme.
For a brief time, McCartney used a nonsense working lyric - "Scrambled eggs, Oh you've got such lovely legs".
In June of 1965, McCartney, while on holiday in Portugal at The Villa of Shadows, finally completed the released lyric about the death of his mother. McCartney recorded the song at Abbey Road Studios two days after returning home. It was the first time a Beatle had recorded a song without the other Beatles, although another version was created that included drums and electric guitars for their live shows.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Yesterday."
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Newness | Late, modern, neoteric, hypermodern, nouveau; new-born, nascent, neonatal, new-fashioned, new-fangled, new-fledged; of yesterday; just out, brand-new, up to date, up to the minute, with it, fashionable, in fashion; in, hip; vernal, renovated, sempervirent, sempervirid. |
Adverb: newly; Adjective: afresh, anew, lately, just now, only yesterday, the other day; latterly, of late. | |
The Past | Yesterday, the day before yesterday; last year, ultimo; lately; (newly). |
Phrase: time was; the time has been, the time hath been; you can't go home again; fuimus Troes; fruit Ilium; hoc erat in more majorum; "O call back yesterday, bid time return"; tempi passati; "the eternal landscape of the past"; ultimus Romanorum; "what's past is prologue"; "whose yesterdays look backward with a smile". | |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Yesterday |
| English words defined with "yesterday": atmospheric condition ♦ bear, birth, bite ♦ deliver ♦ give birth ♦ have, Hesternal ♦ late, lately, latterly ♦ of late ♦ prick, Pridian ♦ recently ♦ sting ♦ To come to hand, To steal a march, today ♦ weather, weather condition ♦ Yester, Yester-evening, Yester-morning, Yestern, Yesternoon. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "yesterday": Article omitted, Assure ♦ bang on, Breidbart Index ♦ demo mode ♦ Elder ♦ Has went ♦ In, Into ♦ King ♦ Linen Goods ♦ Off of, Older, Only ♦ Past, Promise ♦ reflection ♦ Set, Sit ♦ Urda, Verdandi, and Skulda ♦ YEST. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "yesterday": Yester. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Yesterday" is also a word in the following language with the English translation in parentheses. Pidgin English (yesterday). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | One day I'll fly away leave all this to yesterday. Why live life from dream to dream, and dread the day when dreaming ends (Moulin Rouge!; writing credit: Baz Luhrmann; Craig Pearce) Time does fly fast, my son. It seems only yesterday I ordered your first diaper changed (Coming to America; writing credit: David Sheffield) He conducted a parent teacher interview yesterday and organized a field trip to a French bread factory in Trenton (Catch Me If You Can; writing credit: Frank Abagnale Jr.; Stan Redding) So I was yesterday. And the day before (Superman II; writing credit: Jerry Siegel; Joe Shuster) Yesterday we were an army with no country, tomorrow we must decide which country we want to buy (Die Hard: With a Vengeance; writing credit: Jonathan Hensleigh) | |
Lyrics | Now I long for yesterday. ("Yesterday"; performing artist: The Beatles) It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday. (It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday; performing artist: Boyz II Men) It's yesterday once more (Yesterday Once More; performing artist: Carpenters) Was yesterday (Unsent; performing artist: Alanis Morissette) Tell me, yesterday (I'm Outta Love; performing artist: Anastacia; writing credit: Anastacia Newkirk, Sam Watters, Louis Biancaniello) | |
Clever | Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along came today. (references; author: unknown) All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today and yesterday. (references; author: unknown) We crucify ourselves between two thieves: regret for yesterday and fear of tomorrow. (references; author: unknown) Yesterday is a cancelled check. Tomorrow is a promised note. Today is ready cash, use it! (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Yesterday (2002) Say Hello to Yesterday (1971) Yesterday - Today: The Netsilik Eskimo (1971) Today and Forever! Barbra: Yesterday (1970) Witness to Yesterday (1970) | |
Song Titles | It Only Happened Yesterday (performing artist: Jack Scott) Yesterday (performing artist: The Beatles) More Today Than Yesterday (performing artist: The Spiral Staircase) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books | |||
Periodicals |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | "...... Side view of the towed sled used by the Navy research ship Mizar in the search for the nuclear submarine USS Scorpion (SSN-589). Various types of search and detection equipment can be mounted on this vehicle. Mizar yesterday located objects identified as portions of the hull of the Scorpion at a depth of more than 10,000 feet, about 400 miles southwest of the Azores." Quoted from the original caption, released with this photograph under date of 31 October 1968. Credit: NAVY. |  | "...... Bottom view of the towed sled used by the Navy research ship Mizar in the search for the nuclear submarine USS Scorpion (SSN-589). Various types of search and detection equipment can be mounted on this vehicle. Mizar yesterday located objects identified as portions of the hull of the Scorpion at a depth of more than 10,000 feet, about 400 miles southwest of the Azores." Quoted from the original caption, released with this photograph under date of 31 October 1968. Credit: NAVY. |
 | The heroism of yesterday is the commonplace of today. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Speed demons of yesterday --. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | The same boy. About day before yesterday -- today --. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Hundreds of school-age Selma, Ala., youngsters are marched away to detention compound yesterday after demonstration outside the county courthouse. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | "V" Gates, Hitler. Jack Nathan, holds the grill from his Brooklyn home, which he donated yesterday to the New York City Salvage Committee to help its campaign for scrap metal. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Electric Institute of Washington. Drawing from Brides of today and yesterday booth. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | His hunting ground of yesterday, National Parks / Dorothy Waugh. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Join! Yesterday - today - always--The greatest mother / Lawrence Wilbur ; Snyder & Black, Inc., N.Y. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Aquarium" by Filipa Castro Commentary: "My little fish died yesterday ." | "Sail Boat" by Luke Wertz Commentary: "I was at the beach yesterday -- my friend's dad had his boat up on the beach. The hull is a little dirty -- could be cleaned up digitally if need be. I had to do a few 'touch ups' on the photo to get rid of a pontoon boat (on the beach) and a boat out in" |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe | We usually lose today, because there has been a yesterday, and tomorrow is coming. |
Lewis Carroll | The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday --but never jam today. |
Matthew Prior | Cured yesterday of my disease, I died last night of my physician. |
Percy Bysshe Shelley | Man's yesterday may never be like his morrow; Nought may endure but Mutability. |
Peter F. Drucker | The honest work of yesterday has lost its social status, its social esteem. |
Sheldon | Each day look back on your work of yesterday -- Then try to beat it. |
Thomas Carlyle | The outer passes away; the innermost is the same yesterday, today, and forever. |
Will Rogers | Never let yesterday use up too much of today. |
William Shakespeare | O, call back yesterday, bid time return. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Emma | Austen, Jane | Jane came back delighted yesterday. |
Sylvie and Bruno | Carroll, Lewis | I know the harriers were out yesterday. |
A Christmas Carol | Dickens, Charles | I hope you succeeded yesterday. |
Scarlet Letter | Hawthorne, Nathaniel | It seemed not yesterday, not one, nor two, but many days, or even years ago, since he had quitted them |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | Since yesterday. |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | Know what they did yesterday, Mrs. Joad |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | REFLECTION, n. An action of the mind whereby we obtain a clearer view of our relation to the things of yesterday and are able to avoid the perils that we shall not again encounter. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Katie Couric | You know, I think in some ways it seems like it was yesterday. The memories are so vivid and palpable for me. In some ways it seems like a whole lifetime away. |
Representative John Kasich | Well, I don't know, Bob. But as I told a Bush adviser yesterday, if the Republican Party is not capable of selling tax cuts, then we've got to take another look at the Republican Party. We can do it. |
Richard Gephardt | Bob, I have tremendous respect for both of them. But as I tried to say yesterday, I think this is a time when both sides need to try as hard as they possibly can to reach consensus and bipartisan agreement. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Warren G. Harding | 1921-1923 | A regret for the mistakes of yesterday must not, however, blind us to the tasks of today. |
Bill Clinton | 1993-2001 | Congressman Frank Tejeda was buried yesterday, a proud American whose family came from Mexico. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Yesterday" is generally used as an adverb (general) -- approximately 99.75% of the time. "Yesterday" is used about 19,486 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adverb (general) | 99.75% | 19,438 | 459 |
| Noun (singular) | 0.25% | 48 | 49,194 |
| Total | 100.00% | 19,486 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "yesterday": a week ago yesterday ♦ day before yesterday ♦ of yesterday ♦ only yesterday ♦ since yesterday ♦ the day before yesterday ♦ till yesterday ♦ until yesterday ♦ week yesterday ♦ yesterday afternoon ♦ yesterday evening ♦ yesterday morning ♦ yesterday noon. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "yesterday": yesterday-a. | |
Ending with "yesterday": happened-yesterday. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "yesterday"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | gister. (various references) | |
Albanian | dje (day before). (various references) | |
Arabic | الأمس, البارحة, أمس (last night). (various references) | |
Asturian | ayeri. (various references) | |
Aymara | huasuru. (various references) | |
Basque | azto, atzo. (various references) | |
Bavarian | gesddan. (various references) | |
Blackfoot | matónni. (various references) | |
Breton | dec'h. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | вчерашният ден, неотдавна (fresh, newly, of late, recently, the other day), недалечно минало. (various references) | |
Catalan | ahir. (various references) | |
Cebuano | kagahapon. (various references) | |
Chamorro | nigap. (various references) | |
Chinese | 昨天 . (various references) | |
Cornish | dé. (various references) | |
Croatian | juèer. (various references) | |
Czech | vèera. (various references) | |
Danish | i går. (various references) | |
Dutch | gisteren. (various references) | |
Ecuadorian Quechua | caina punlla. (various references) | |
Esperanto | hieraŭa (of yesterday), hiera—, hieraŭ. (various references) | |
Estonian | eile. (various references) | |
Faeroese | ígjar, í gjár. (various references) | |
Farsi | زمان گذشته , روزپیش , دیروز. (various references) | |
Finnish | eilen. (various references) | |
Flemish | gisteren. (various references) | |
French | hier. (various references) | |
French Canadian | hier. (various references) | |
Frisian | juster. (various references) | |
Galician | onte. (various references) | |
German | gestern (yesteryear). (various references) | |
Greek | χθέσ, χθες, εχθέσ. (various references) | |
Guarani | kuehe. (various references) | |
Haitian Creole | yè. (various references) | |
Hawaiian | dje. (various references) | |
Hebrew | אתמול. (various references) | |
Hungarian | tegnap. (various references) | |
Icelandic | gær. (various references) | |
Indonesian | kemarin. (various references) | |
Inuktitut | ippaksaq. (various references) | |
Irish | inné. (various references) | |
Italian | ieri. (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 昨日 , 昨日 , 昨 (last). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | きのう (air bladder or sac, faculty, function, inductive, take up farming again), さくじつ, さく (a harvest, a work, cord, crossout, curtail, fence, last, paling, pare, plan, plane, policy, reduce, rope, scrape off, sharpen, shave, to alienate, to avoid, to bloom, to cede, to cleave, to cut up, to divide, to separate, to sever, to spare, to split, to tear, whittle). (various references) | |
Lombard | ier. (various references) | |
Luganda | jjo. (various references) | |
Luxembourgish | gëschter. (various references) | |
Macedonian | vchera. (various references) | |
Malagasy | omaly. (various references) | |
Manx | jea. (various references) | |
Maori | I nanahi. (various references) | |
Maya | ho'olhak. (various references) | |
Mohawk | thetenre. (various references) | |
Norwegian | i går. (various references) | |
Occitan | ièr, gèr. (various references) | |
Papago | tako. (various references) | |
Papiamen | ayera. (various references) | |
Pidgin English | yesterday. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | yesterdayay.(various references) | |
Polish | wczoraj. (various references) | |
Portuguese | ontem. (various references) | |
Portuguese Brazilian | ontem. (various references) | |
Provencal | ièr. (various references) | |
Quechua | qayna. (various references) | |
Romanian | ieri (formerly, the other day). (various references) | |
Romansch | ier. (various references) | |
Romany | ich. (various references) | |
Russian | вчера. (various references) | |
Samoan | ananafi. (various references) | |
Scottish | dé, an dé, dé (that, what, what?), an dé. (various references) | |
Sepedi | maabane. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | jučerašnji dan, juče. (various references) | |
Shona | nezuro. (various references) | |
Sicilian | ieri. (various references) | |
Slovene | vèeraj. (various references) | |
Somali | shalayto. (various references) | |
Sotho | maobane. (various references) | |
Spanish | ayer. (various references) | |
Sranan | esrede. (various references) | |
Swahili | jana. (various references) | |
Swedish | i går (last night). (various references) | |
Tagalog | kahapon, kahápon. (various references) | |
Tahitian | nanahi. (various references) | |
Tswana | maabane. (various references) | |
Turkish | dün. (various references) | |
Turkmen | dьяn. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | учорашній день, учора, недавно (a while ago, anew, latterly, new, newly, not long ago, not long since, of late, recently), недавне минуле. (various references) | |
Welsh | doe. (various references) | |
Wolof | démb. (various references) | |
Xhosa | izolo. (various references) | |
Yucatec | ho'lyak. (various references) | |
Zulu | izolo. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | here, heri. (various references) |
| Old English | 450-1100 | gystran. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | John Chapter 4, Verse 52 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Epuqeto oun par autwn thn wran en h komyoteron escen kai eipon autw oti cqeV wran ebdomhn afhken auton o puretoV |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Interrogabat ergo horam ab eis in qua melius habuerit et dixerunt ei quia heri hora septima reliquit eum febris |
| Old English | 990 | West Saxon | Ða axode he to hwilcan timan hymbet wære. & hyo sægdon hym. gystendaigto þa seofeðe tide; se feofer hyne for-let. |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | And he axide of hem the our, in which he was amendid. And thei seiden to hym, For yistirdai in the seuenthe our the feuer lefte him. |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | Then enquyred he of the the houre when he begane to amende. And they sayde vnto him: Yester daye the sevethe houre the fever lefte him. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | Then he inquired of them the hour when he began to amend: and they said to him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | So he put a question to them as to the hour when he became better; and they said to him, The disease went from him yesterday at the seventh hour. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | John Chapter 4, Verse 52 |
| Cebuano | Ug siya nangutana kanila kanus-a siya magsugod sa pagkaayo, ug sila miingon kaniya, "Kagahapon sa ikapito ang takna siya gihuwasan sa hilanat." |
| Chinese | 他 就 問 甚 麼 時 候 見 好 的 。 他 們 說 、 昨 日 未 時 熱 就 退 了 。 |
| Croatian | Upita ih dakle za uru kad mu je krenulo nabolje. Rekoše mu: "Juèer oko sedme ure pustila ga ognjica." |
| Danish | Da udspurgte han dem om den Time, i hvilken det var blevet bedre med ham; og de sagde til ham: "I Går ved den syvende time forlod Feberen ham." |
| Dutch | Zo vraagde hij dan van hen de ure, in welke het beter met hem geworden was. En zij zeiden tot hem: Gisteren te zeven ure verliet hem de koorts. |
| Finnish | Niin hän tiedusteli heiltä, millä hetkellä hän oli alkanut toipua. Ja he sanoivat hänelle: "Eilen seitsemännellä hetkellä kuume lähti hänestä". |
| French | Il leur demanda à quelle heure il s`était trouvé mieux; et ils lui dirent: Hier, à la septième heure, la fièvre l`a quitté. |
| German | Da forschte er von ihnen die Stunde, in welcher es besser mit ihm geworden war. Und sie sprachen zu ihm: Gestern um die siebente Stunde verließ ihn das Fieber. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Lalu ia bertanya kepada mereka pukul berapa anak itu mulai sembuh. Mereka menjawab, "Kemarin kira-kira pukul satu tengah hari demamnya hilang." |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Maka bertanyalah ia kepada mereka itu pukul berapa ia sudah segar. Maka katanya kepadanya, "Kemarin pukul satu hilanglah demamnya." |
| Maori | Na ka ui ia ki a ratou ki te haora i matutu ake ai ia. Ka mea ratou ki a ia, Nonanahi, no te whitu o nga haora, i mutu ai tona ka. |
| Norwegian | Han spurte dem da om den time da det var blitt bedre med ham; de sa til ham: Igår ved den syvende time forlot feberen ham. |
| Portuguese | Perguntou-lhes, pois, a que hora começara a melhorar; ao que lhe disseram: Ontem à hora sétima a febre o deixou. |
| Rumanian | El i -a kntrebat de ceasul kn care a knceput sq -i fie mai bine. Wi ei i-au zis: ,,Ieri, kn ceasul al waptelea, l-au lqsat frigurile.`` |
| Russian | пО УРТПУЙМ Х ОЙИ: Ч ЛПФПТПН ЮБУХ УФБМП ЕНХ МЕЗЮЕ? еНХ УЛБЪБМЙ: ЧЮЕТБ Ч УЕДШНПН ЮБУХ ЗПТСЮЛБ ПУФБЧЙМБ ЕЗП. |
| Shuar | Apasha inintrusmiayi nantu urukaim pénker ajasma. Niisha tiarmiayi "Yau, nantu pukuntamtai, tsuemun michatramai" tiarmiayi. Nuna antuk Uchí Aparísha Enentáimsamai. |
| Swahili | Naye akawauliza saa mtoto alipopata nafuu; nao wakamwambia, "Jana saa saba mchana, homa ilimwacha." |
| Swedish | Då frågade han dem vid vilken timme det hade blivit bättre med honom. De svarade honom: "I går vid den sjunde timmen lämnade febern honom." |
| Uma | Napekune' -ramo: "Jaa hangkuja-i mo'uri' -e?" Ra'uli': "Wengi, ba jaa satu mpo'eo tu, uma-ipi ngkelengi'." |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "yesterday": yesterdays. (additional references) | |
| |
"Yesterday" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: sestertii, yeasterday, yersterday, yestarday, yesterady, yesterdy, yesturday. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "yesterday" (pronounced ye"sterdā' or ye"sterdē) |
| 3 | -er d ē | jeopardy. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | <
