Jadis (en. Formerly)

/ʒa.di/

Meaning & Definition

EnglishFrench

adverb

Indicates an action or state that took place in the past but is no longer the case today.

Once, this castle was inhabited by a king.

Jadis, ce château était habité par un roi.

Used to evoke memories of the past.

Once, we used to gather every summer.

Jadis, nous avions l'habitude de nous réunir chaque été.

Expresses nostalgia or admiration for the past.

Once, the villagers lived in harmony with nature.

Jadis, les villageois vivaient en harmonie avec la nature.

From Old French 'jadis', derived from Latin 'jam diū', meaning 'already a long time ago'.

once upon a time and recently

Refers to a time in the past that seems to be over.

jadis et naguère

a time once

Refers to a distant era.

un temps jadis

once, everything was different

Highlights a significant change since the past.

jadis, tout était différent

ancient

Belonging to a past or bygone time.

ancien

historical

Related to history, past events.

historique

nostalgia

A feeling of regret for the past.

nostalgie

Pejorative term to refer to something outdated.

This clothing style is outdated.

Ce style vestimentaire est jadis.

Humorous reference to a forgotten time.

This is a song from the past that only our grandparents know.

C'est une chanson jadis que seuls nos grands-parents connaissent.