time immemorial
noun
Also called time out of mind.
time in the distant past beyond memory or record: Those carvings have been there from time immemorial.
Law.
time beyond legal memory, fixed by statute in England as prior to the beginning of the reign of Richard I (1189).
Origin of time immemorial
First recorded in 1595–1605
Words nearby time immemorial
time exposure,
time flies,
time frame,
time hangs heavy,
time heals all wounds,
time immemorial,
time is money,
time is of the essence,
time is ripe,
time is up,
time killer
British Dictionary definitions for time immemorial
time immemorial
noun
the distant past beyond memory or record
law
time beyond legal memory, fixed by English statute as before the reign of Richard I (1189)
Idioms and Phrases with time immemorial
time immemorial
Also, time out of mind. Long ago, beyond memory or recall, as in These ruins have stood here since time immemorial, or His office has been on Madison Avenue for time out of mind. The first expression comes from English law, where it signifies “beyond legal memory,” specifically before the reign of Richard I (1189–1199), fixed as the legal limit for bringing certain kinds of lawsuit. By about 1600 it was broadened to its present sense of “a very long time ago.” The variant, first recorded in 1432, uses mind in the sense of “memory” or “recall.”