yesteryear

noun

1. (countable, poetic, uncountable)Past years; time gone by; yore.

   “To be old here, is to be respectable, and time-honored is the epithet most coveted. You see no sign of the doings of yesterday or yesteryear: the new is careful of obtruding itself, and comes into the world under matronage of the old.”

   “It seems to me that it isn't these little acts and little connexions we make in our lives that matter so very much. They pass away, and where are they? Where…Where are the snows of yesteryear?”

   “Where Babcock has proprietary technologies, they will be preserved and developed, in so far as they help to give the company an edge over its rivals. But make no mistake, if Parker and Salmon have their way, boiler suits are the workwear of yesteryear at Babcock. Graduates, not grease-monkeys, are the typical employees of the future.”

   “After passing Starcross and then the new […] Marsh Barton station, we soon arrive at the delightful Exeter St Davids station, which still retains much of its charm and GWR character of yesteryear.”

   “Oh, the cozy glow of yesteryear. Oh, the twinkly lights and all the cheer. We're bringin' back Christmas.”

2. (countable, rare, uncountable)Last year.

adv

1. (not-comparable, poetic)In past years.

   “Was it yesteryear or centuries ago that the Orient Express thundered over that narrow, glistening channel and linked the Golden Horn to the Seine?”

   “To believe in God was to Moroni’s credit. But to believe in the Son of God, a Being who had only been prophesied about and whose birth was still in the future, is truly remarkable. It is similar to those who lived yesteryear (and are living today) after the coming of Christ, who believed (and who do believe) in Him, although He has never been seen in person.”

   “What lives there today provides a clue as to what lived here yesteryear.”