By the time anything resembling a language policy was introduced, English had already reached all corners of the globe. For example, English-speaking puritans were not the only Europeans to arrive in North America: Spanish, French, Dutch and German were also widely spoken.
immemorial - long past; beyond the limits of memory or tradition or recorded history; time immemorial. old - of long duration; not new; old tradition; old house; old wine; old country; old friendships; old money.
imâ¢pure. 1. not pure; mixed with extraneous matter, esp. of an inferior nature: impure water. 2. modified by admixture, as color. 3. mixed or combined with something else: an impure style of architecture. 4. regarded by a religion as unclean.