The word 以往 is formed by combining two directional and conceptual characters to create a temporal meaning. The character 以 (yǐ) often serves as a grammatical marker indicating a limit or boundary, derived from its ancient meaning related to "using" or "taking". It sets a conceptual starting point. The character 往 (wǎng) means "to go" or "toward", depicting spatial movement. When combined, the literal sense is "taking [a point] and going from it", which metaphorically extends from physical space to time, conveying the idea of "from that point onward into the past" or "what has gone by". Thus, the formation is a conceptual blend of setting a limit (以) and motion away from it (往) to express elapsed time.