Definition of "bygone"
bygone
adjective
not comparable
Having been or happened in the distant past.
Quotations
I had thought (Sir) to haue held my peace, vntillYou had drawne Oathes from him, not to stay: you (Sir)Charge him too coldly. Tell him, you are sureAll in Bohemia's well: this satisfaction,The by-gone-day proclaym'd, say this to him,He's beat from his best ward.
c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act II, scene ii]
Travellers over the London & North Western main line in bygone days will need no reminder of the pattering of cinders on the carriage roofs, the fountains of sparks from the chimneys at night and the distance from which the exhaust of approaching locomotives could be heard, due to the fierceness of their blast in such conditions.
1962 June, Cecil J. Allen, “Locomotive Running Past and Present”, in Modern Railways, page 399
The modern, glass-fronted buildings surrounding the massive skyscraper Taipei 101 in the Xinyi District suggest a shift toward cleaner, starker development, but a trip to older parts of the city reveals hidden corners untouched by modernity.The oldest section, Wanhua, with its winding corridors and quiet decay, offers a glimpse of the city’s bygone days. At its bustling heart is the busy Longshan Temple. I bump past a flurry of tourists, worshipers and monks selling prayer beads outside the gates to reach the controlled chaos within, where hundreds of faithful light incense and present offerings at myriad shrines to Buddha and other deities.
2011 April 8, Erin Meister, “Reveling in the real Taiwain[sic – meaning Taiwan]”, in The Washington Post, archived from the original on 26 April 2023, Travel
noun
plural bygones