yesteryear
昔
解説 Definition
過去のある時期、特に懐かしい昔の時代。往年。
Yesteryear means the past, especially a time long ago that people remember with feeling or nostalgia. It is often used when talking about earlier days, old traditions, or past success. The word sounds literary or old-fashioned.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
yesterday を知っていれば、yester- が付くと「過ぎ去った昔っぽい響き」を感じ取りやすいです。そこに year が入るので、1年前ではなく「過ぎ去った年月・往年」と広めに捉えるのがコツ。history のように事実を述べる語ではなく、どこか懐かしさを帯びた古風な言い方で、the good old days に近い空気を一緒に覚えると定着します。
If you know yesterday, the part yester- already gives an old-time feeling. Add year, and you get the years of the past, not just one day ago. The word often sounds warm or nostalgic, like the good old days. That old-fashioned tone helps fix it in memory.
例文
She reminisced about the golden days of yesteryear.
彼女は往年の輝かしい日々を回想した。
The vintage photograph captured the charm of yesteryear.
その古い写真は昔の魅力を捉えていた。
Movies of yesteryear often had a different style from today's films.
昔の映画は現在の映画とは異なるスタイルを持っていることが多い。
yesteryear の類義語・関連語
yesteryear の語源・成り立ち Etymology
yesteryear は yester- と year から成り、yester- は古英語 geostran 系の「昨日の・過ぎ去った」です。関連語は yesterday や yestreen です。「昨日」が year に付くことで、昔を昨日のように懐かしむ響きが生まれたと分かります。
Yesteryear is made from yester- and year. Yester- comes from Old English forms related to "yesterday" and meant something like "of yesterday" or "past." By joining it with year, the word came to mean times gone by, with a feeling that the past is as near as yesterday.
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