time [OE] To the Anglo-Saxons time and *tide meant the same thing. Both time immemorial [L16th] and its equivalent time out of mind [LME] were originally legal formulas. Their exact meaning was ‘a time beyond legal memory’, which was fixed very precisely by statute in 1276 as 1 July 1189, the beginning of the reign of Richard I. The idea was that if you could prove possession of a land or a title or right from that date there was no need to establish when or how it was originally acquired. Not surprisingly, everyone but the lawyers soon forgot the specific meaning and both phrases developed the more general sense of ‘a very long time ago’. The expression time is money has a very modern ring to it, but it was in use by the early 18th century. Before that the thought had clearly occurred to many over the centuries, as ‘the most costly outlay is time’ is attributed to the ancient Athenian orator and politician Antiphon. See also move.