Passé

Passé is a French term meaning "past" or "gone by." In French, passé can function as an adjective (masculine passé, feminine passée) or as a noun, and it is used to indicate something that has already occurred, is outdated, or belongs to the past. In English, passé is borrowed with the same sense and accent, often used to mean out of fashion or no longer current.

In French grammar, the term is associated with several tenses. The passé composé is a compound past tense used to describe actions completed in the past, formed with an auxiliary verb (avoir or être) plus the past participle, for example, j'ai parlé or elle est venue. The passé simple is a literary past tense used in formal writing and narratives, distinct from everyday spoken French.

In dance, passé is a widely used ballet term describing a position in which the working leg is bent and the toe of the raised foot rests near the knee of the supporting leg, with the toe pointed and the leg usually passing near the knee. It is a fundamental preparatory or transitional position in many movements and turns.

In general English usage, passé describes something that has fallen out of fashion or become outdated, as in phrases like "these styles are passé." The term reflects its original French sense of time passing and things passing into the past, and it remains common in fashion, art, and cultural commentary.