# past (temporal)

the time that is before now

- Computed level: L2 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: temporal  ·  Arena: past.temporal

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [time](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-time.dimension), [previous](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-previous.temporal)

**Through:** time.dimension together with previous.temporal is the time that is before now

**Novel properties:**
- relative ordering
- non‑present status
- temporal distance

## Examples
- The light from the Andromeda Galaxy takes 2.5 million years to reach Earth, showing a past state of the galaxy. *(astronomy)*
- The Treaty of Versailles, signed in 1919, formally ended World War I and reshaped European borders. *(history)*
- The Python 2 programming language was officially deprecated in 2020, marking its transition to legacy status. *(computing)*

## Used by
- [ago](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-ago.temporal) (L3)
- [hindsight is twenty twenty](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-hindsight-is-twenty-twenty.retrospection) (L15)
- [overshoot](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-overshoot.dynamics) (L16)
- [remember](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-remember.cognitive) (L21)
- [scar](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-scar.residual) (L17)

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-past.temporal*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-past.temporal.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*