The spelling of the word "yester" can cause confusion as it can be easily mistaken for "yesterday" which has a completely different meaning. The IPA phonetic transcription for "yester" is /ˈjɛstər/, which indicates the pronunciation of the word as "yes-ter". The word is an archaic term and is generally only used in literary or poetic contexts. It is important to be aware of the spelling and pronunciation of lesser-used words to avoid confusion and miscommunication.
Yester is an adjective that is used to describe something that belongs to, or refers to, the day preceding the present day. It is typically used in combination with other words or to form compound words conveying the idea of the previous day. The term yester derives from Middle English, where it is a contraction of the phrase "yesterday," with the -day part omitted, but retaining the meaning of "day." It is mainly used in more formal or poetic contexts, as it is considered archaic in contemporary language usage.
The term yester is often used to denote or emphasize the temporal proximity of a previous day, highlighting the idea of recentness or immediacy. For instance, one might hear or use phrases like "yestermorn" to refer to the previous morning, "yestereve" to denote the previous evening, or "yesterweek" to indicate the week that just passed.
Despite its historical nature, yester carries an air of nostalgia and can evoke the idea of a past that is not too distant. It can be employed to indicate a sense of longing or reflection upon events or experiences that have taken place within the immediate past. Yester holds a certain poetry to its usage, adding a touch of elegance and evoking a sense of time's passage with a gentle reminder of what has already been.
Being next before the present day; last.
Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.
The word yester is a Middle English term derived from the Old English word geostran, which is a combination of geo- meaning past or yesterday and -stran meaning past. Over time, these elements merged to form yester. The word yester has been in use since the 14th century and is primarily found in compound words such as yesterday, yesteryear, or yesternight.