| pluperfect tense |
| Definition: A tense used to convey the idea that a past event has been completed prior to another past event. Note: In English you form it by adding the word had to a past participle. |
| Example: I had finished my letter before he arrived. |
| Etymology: The word was coined by shortening the Latin phrase tempus praeteritum plus quam perfectum, past tense more than perfect. Note: The Latin phrase itself was coined by translating the Greek phrase khronos hypersyntelikos. |
| Oxford English Dictionary: The term's first OED citation is from 1530: "The Preter Pluperfit Tens. Jauóye parlé, I had spoken." (Palsgr. 88) |