ġeostran dæġ
The Old English for "yesterday" is ġeostran dæġ, literally "yester-day". The spellings ġiestran dæġ and ġystran dæġ are also found.
The phrase works as an adverb of time: Ic hine ġeseah ġeostran dæġ, "I saw him yesterday". The word ġeostran on its own also means "yesterday".
Meaning: day before today (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
ġeostran is the ancestor of "yester-", and dæġ means "day". Together they became modern "yesterday".
How do you pronounce it?
ġ sounds like the y in "yes", so the phrase sounds roughly like "YEH-oh-stran dai".
Did you know?
- The "yester-" part has relatives across the Germanic languages, such as German gestern and Dutch gisteren.
- Old English said "tomorrow" in a different way: tō morgenne, "toward the morning".
Examples in context
- Hū gespræcon wē ystran?How did we speak yesterday?
- Westrǣne ic þæt gesaweYesterday, I saw it
- Ic hine ġeseah ġeostran dæġ.I saw him yesterday.
- Ġeostran dæġ wæs ċeald.Yesterday was cold.
Example conversation
Eadric and Eadgyth meet in the village.
- EadricHwǣr wǣre þū ġeostran dæġ, Eadgyth?Where were you yesterday, Eadgyth?
- EadgythIc wæs on þǣm felda mid mīnum fæder.I was in the field with my father.
- EadricWæs hit ċeald þǣr?Was it cold there?
- EadgythĠēa, ġeostran dæġ wæs swīþe ċeald, Eadric.Yes, yesterday was very cold, Eadric.
