The spelling of the word "past here" is fairly straightforward when considering its phonetic transcription: /pæst hɪər/. The first syllable, "past," is spelled with a single "s" despite the fact that it is pronounced with a voiceless "s" sound (/pæst/) rather than a voiced "z" sound. The second syllable, "here," is spelled with an "e" rather than an "i" to represent the lax /ɪ/ vowel sound. Together, these two words form a phrase that is commonly used to indicate a location that has already been passed.
There is no specific term "past here" in standard dictionaries. However, let us analyze the meaning of each word individually to offer an explanation based on their definitions.
1. Past: When used as a noun, "past" refers to a previous time or a period that has already occurred. As an adverb, it indicates a movement or action occurring or happening beyond a certain point in time or location. It can also be used as a preposition to indicate movement or location beyond a particular object, place, or time.
2. Here: "Here" is an adverb that signifies a specific location or place that is close to the speaker or writer. It denotes the present location or the place being referred to.
Combining these meanings, "past here" can be interpreted as an adverbial phrase indicating movement or a position beyond the current location or place referred to. Essentially, it suggests passing or going further away from the area being identified as "here" to another point or location relatively farther or later in time.
However, without further context or specific usage, it is difficult to provide a precise definition beyond this general interpretation.
The phrase "past here" is not a stand-alone word, but rather a combination of two separate words: "past" and "here".
The word "past" originated in Middle English around the 13th century, derived from the Old English word "paest" or "paestan", meaning "beyond, further", or "beyond the time of". It can also be traced back to the Latin word "pastus", which means "pasture" or "food". In its adverbial form, "past" indicates movement or action that is beyond a certain point or in a previous time.
The word "here" has an Old English origin, derived from the word "her", which referred to "at this place". It further developed from the Proto-Germanic word "hiar", and eventually evolved into "here" in Middle English.