What is the Latin word for past?

The usual Latin words for “past” are praetereō, exigō, fīniō; also prius, superus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“past” in Latin

praetereōto pass by or go by; to surpass or excel; to disregard, neglect, omit or miss exigōto drive out; expel; to demand, require; enforce, exact (pay); to execute, complete a task fīniōto finish, terminate; to set, appoint; to limit, bound priuspreviously; before superusabove, upper, higher

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

past adv.

praeteritus; exactus; finitus: also, prior, superior: the past year, summer, annus superior, aetas prior: the past cannot be altered, praeterita mutari non possunt, or mutare non possumus (after Cic.): past time, tempus praeteritum (Cic.); tempus actum (Hor., A. P.). ☞ Avoid the use of elapsus and praeterlapsus of p. time absolutely; Vid: Wolf., Anal., 1, p. 488.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for past?: The usual Latin words for “past” are praetereō, exigō, fīniō; also prius, superus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.