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Glite Dictionary
since the year dot

since the year dot

9.3
For a very long time
  • idiom
  • UK
translation icon : desde siempre
  • I've known him since the year dot.

Examples

  • We've used the same accounting system since the year dot.

  • They've been friends since the year dot!

  • Jane and Mark have known each other since the year dot.

  • Their family has lived in the village since the year dot.

  • Their family has lived in the village since the year dot.

  • We've used the same accounting system since the year dot.

  • Jane and Mark have known each other since the year dot.

Synonyms

long since
vssince the year dot
87 4.6

Saying that something happened many years ago and is not true now

differs by stressing continuous duration from the earliest past rather than a past point
from way back
vssince the year dot
  • Informal
5 7.7

Since a long time ago

focuses more on the earliest imaginable starting point rather than simple existence
since a long time ago
vssince the year dot
1 3.2

From a very long time ago up to now

expresses the same long duration but with idiomatic emphasis on earliest time
year dot
vssince the year dot
  • UK
9.9

A very long time ago that people can remember

is used to stress an extremely long time from the very earliest moments
since Hector was a pup
vssince the year dot
  • UK
9.9

For a very long time

is similar but is less humorous and more general in tone
forever and a day
vssince the year dot
  • Archaic
5.6

For a very long time with no clear end

means a very long duration but stresses origin at the earliest time

How Long

since the year dot
  • UK
9.3
long ago
521 1.0
recently
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

since the year dot main

Morphology

since + the + years + dot

The meaning 'for a very long time' is not derivable from the literal parts: 'dot' (a small spot) plus 'year' do not transparently convey duration, so knowing the individual words would not lead a B1 learner to the idiomatic sense. This is a colloquial, language-specific idiom whose meaning is unpredictable from its constituents, making it opaque.

Etymology

The idiom since the year dot may come from a simple image: people imagined the very first year written as just a tiny dot, meaning the very start, or 'from the very beginning'. That's why we say it to mean someone has done something 'for a very long time'.