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ago

postp, adj — 3 senses

ago

postp

UK /əˈɡəʊ/ · US /əˈɡoʊ/

Etymology From Middle English ago, agon (“passed”), past participle of agon (“to depart, escape, pass”), from Old English āgān (“to go away, pass away, go forth, come to pass”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out”), *gāną (“to go”), equivalent to a- + gone, and by surface analysis, a- + go. Cognate with German ergehen (“to come to pass, fare, go forth”). Compare also Old Saxon āgangan (“to go or pass by”), Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌰𐌽 (usgaggan, “to go forth”).

1

Before now, before the present time

  • I got married ten years ago.
  • When they first met in 2000, my dad told my mom how he had gotten the money. The story begins 20 years ago.
2 more examples
  • It was two weeks ago that I saw her last.
  • Two years ago a pair of scientists sparked fears of a devastating virus.2013 August 10, “Damned if you don’t”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
Derived terms
four score and seven years ago, long ago, long long ago, many moons ago, promised 3,000 years ago, three days ago, two years ago

ago

adj

Etymology From Middle English ago, agon (“passed”), past participle of agon (“to depart, escape, pass”), from Old English āgān (“to go away, pass away, go forth, come to pass”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out”), *gāną (“to go”), equivalent to a- + gone, and by surface analysis, a- + go. Cognate with German ergehen (“to come to pass, fare, go forth”). Compare also Old Saxon āgangan (“to go or pass by”), Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌰𐌽 (usgaggan, “to go forth”).

1

Archaic, Dialectal Gone; gone by; gone away; passed; passed away.

  • in days ago / in days agone
2

Archaic, Dialectal Nearly gone; dead. (used in Devonshire at the turn of the 19th century)

  • Woe the day—she is agone!

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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