Be*fore" (&?;), prep. [OE. beforen,
biforen, before, AS. beforan; pref. be- +
foran, fore, before. See Be-, and Fore.]
1. In front of; preceding in space; ahead of; as, to
stand before the fire; before the house.
His angel, who shall go
Before them in a cloud and pillar of fire.
Milton.
2. Preceding in time; earlier than; previously to;
anterior to the time when; -- sometimes with the additional idea of
purpose; in order that.
Before Abraham was, I am.
John viii. 58.
Before this treatise can become of use, two points
are necessary.
Swift.
&fist; Formerly before, in this sense, was followed by
that. "Before that Philip called thee . . . I saw thee."
John i. 48.
3. An advance of; farther onward, in place or
time.
The golden age . . . is before us.
Carlyle.
4. Prior or preceding in dignity, order, rank,
right, or worth; rather than.
He that cometh after me is preferred before me.
John i. 15.
The eldest son is before the younger in
succession.
Johnson.
5. In presence or sight of; face to face with;
facing.
Abraham bowed down himself before the people.
Gen. xxiii. 12.
Wherewith shall I come before the Lord?
Micah vi. 6.
6. Under the cognizance or jurisdiction
of.
If a suit be begun before an archdeacon.
Ayliffe.
7. Open for; free of access to; in the power
of.
The world was all before them where to choose.
Milton.
Before the mast (Naut.), as a common
sailor, -- because the sailors live in the forecastle, forward of the
foremast. -- Before the wind (Naut.), in
the direction of the wind and by its impulse; having the wind aft.
Be*fore", adv. 1. On the
fore part; in front, or in the direction of the front; -- opposed to in
the rear.
The battle was before and behind.
2 Chron. xiii. 14.
2. In advance. "I come before to tell
you." Shak.
3. In time past; previously; already.
You tell me, mother, what I knew before.
Dryden.
4. Earlier; sooner than; until then.
When the butt is out, we will drink water; not a drop
before.
Shak.
&fist; Before is often used in self-explaining compounds; as,
before-cited, before-mentioned; beforesaid.
