since the advent of written language.

In English, the word past was one of the many variant forms and spellings of passed, the past participle of the Middle English verb ''passen'' (whence Modern English pass), among ypassed, ypassyd, i-passed, passyd, passid, pass'd, paste, etc. It developed into an adjective and preposition in the 14th century, and a noun (as in the past or a past, through ellipsis with