"でした" meaning in Japanese

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "deshita",
      "tags": [
        "romanization"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "でした • (deshita)",
      "name": "ja-verb-form"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Japanese",
  "lang_code": "ja",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese links with redundant wikilinks",
          "parents": [
            "Links with redundant wikilinks",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese terms with redundant sortkeys",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with redundant sortkeys",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "form_of": [
        {
          "extra": "(desu, polite copula): was, were",
          "word": "です"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "past of です (desu, polite copula): was, were"
      ],
      "id": "en-でした-ja-verb-eKCBgVxD",
      "links": [
        [
          "です",
          "です#Japanese"
        ],
        [
          "was",
          "was"
        ],
        [
          "were",
          "were"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "form-of",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "でした"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "deshita",
      "tags": [
        "romanization"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "でした • (deshita)",
      "name": "ja-verb-form"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Japanese",
  "lang_code": "ja",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "Japanese entries with incorrect language header",
        "Japanese hiragana",
        "Japanese links with redundant wikilinks",
        "Japanese non-lemma forms",
        "Japanese terms with redundant sortkeys",
        "Japanese verb forms"
      ],
      "form_of": [
        {
          "extra": "(desu, polite copula): was, were",
          "word": "です"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "past of です (desu, polite copula): was, were"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "です",
          "です#Japanese"
        ],
        [
          "was",
          "was"
        ],
        [
          "were",
          "were"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "form-of",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "でした"
}

{
  "called_from": "parser/1336",
  "msg": "no corresponding start tag found for </span>",
  "path": [
    "でした"
  ],
  "section": "Japanese",
  "subsection": "verb",
  "title": "でした",
  "trace": ""
}