before

before, adv., prep., and conj.
  (bɪˈfɔə(r))
  Forms: 1 bi-, beforan, 2–4 bi-, beforen, 4– before. (Also 3 biuore(n, biforenn, byuore, biforr; 4–5 bi-, byforne, bifor(e, 4–6 byfore, 4–7 beforn(e, 5 befoore, 5–6 Sc. befoir, beforrow, 7 arch. beforen, biforn, 8 arch. beforne.)
  [OE. beforan (cogn. w. OS. biforan, OHG. bifora, MHG. bevor, also bevorne, bevorn), f. bi-, be- by, about + foran adv.:—OTeut. *forana from the front, advb. derivative of fora, for. Cf. also fore, afore, atfore, tofore. Primarily an adverb; its relation to a n. was expressed by putting the latter in the dative, ‘in front as to a thing,’ whence it passed into a preposition (cf. B 2, quot. 971). Elision of a relative particle has given it also the force of an adverbial conjunction e.g. in ‘think before (that) you speak.’]
  A. adv. I. Of sequence in space.
  1. Of motion: Ahead, in advance, in front.

a 1000 Beowulf 2829 He feara sum beforan gengde wisra monna. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 41 Mihhal eode biforen and Poul com efter. c 1350 Will. Palerne 3193 And bifore went william and afterward þe quene. 1375 Barbour Bruce x. 245 Thai that war went furth beforn. c 1430 Chev. Assigne 322 Euur feraunce by-forne & þat other aftur. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. v. i. 397, I am sent with broome before, To sweep the dust behinde the door. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. i. 3 Nor Twins, the horned Bull of Crete, untimely go beforn. 1740 Johnson Sir F. Drake Wks. IV. 403 Advertised by two Symerons, whom he sent before. 1859 Tennyson Enid 863 Not at my side. I charge thee ride before, Ever a good way on before.

  2. Of position or direction: In front, in or on the anterior or fore side.

a 1300 Cursor M. 16637 Þai hailsed him be-for, bihind. 1413 Lydg. Pylgr. Sowle iv. xxxviii. 64 Full of eyen byfore and behynd. 1420 E.E. Wills (1882) 53 A habirgoun of Mylen, opyn be-for. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cliii. 183 Bare a starre on his bonet and on his mantell before. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iii. ii. 56 His horse..neere leg'd before. 1605 ― Macb. v. viii. 46 Had he his hurts before? 1635 E. Pagitt Christianogr. i. ii. (1636) 77 His upper garment..buttoned before. 1722 Lond. Gaz. No. 6088/3 Has lost a Tooth before. 1855 Owen Teeth 302 Counting the molars from before backwards.

fig. 1821 Shelley Skylark, We look before and after, And pine for what is not.

  † 3. Before the face of men; openly. Obs.

c 1000 Andreas 1212 (Bosw.), Wundor on eorþan he beforan cyþde. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 41 Þe þet spekeð faire biforen and false bihinden.

  † 4. In a position of pre-eminence or superiority to. Obs.

1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xx. 23 For is no vertue by fer · to spiritus temperancie [C. text reads by-fore to, to-fore, by ȝer, by fer, be ver, so fair as]. 1382 Wyclif Gen. i. 26 Bifore be he [man] to the fishis of the see.

  II. Of sequence in time or order.
  5. a. In time previous or anterior to a time in question, previous to that or to this, earlier, sooner; hence beforehand; already, heretofore, in the past. Often with adverbs or advb. phrases of time, as long before, three years before, the week before, etc.

a 1225 Ancr. R. 240 Vor þi, mine leoue sustren, beoð biuoren iwarre. 1258 Procl. Hen. III, Alse hit is beforen iseid. 1297 R. Glouc. 443 Roberd..les þat lyf Aboute þre ȝer byoure. a 1300 Cursor M. 8523 Dauid..spak..O cristes birth sua lang be-forn. 1340 Ayenb. 260 Ase ich habbe beuore yzed. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 2 Whyche book I had neuer seen before. 1512 Act 4 Hen. VIII, xi, Everything..byfore rehersed. 1513 Bradshaw St. Werburge (1848) 38 As our mother sayd to the byforne. c 1560 A. Scott Counsale Wanton W., Ye trest to find thame trew That nevir wes beforrow. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. May 104 For ought may happen that hath bene beforne. c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. xl, What hast thou then more then thou hadst before? 1610 ― Temp. iii. ii. 2 When the But is out we will drinke water . not a drop before. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. ix. (1806) 44 The conversation at this time was more reserved than before. 1798 Coleridge Anc. Mar. v. II. 47 The Mariners all return'd to work As silent as beforne. 1848 Macaulay Hist. I. 153 Charles the First, eighteen years before, withdrew from his capital.

  † b. In Scotch, of before = of aforetime, formerly.

c 1505 Dunbar Gold. Targe xxiv, Scho semyt lustiar of chere..Than of before. 1513–75 Diurn. Occurr. (1833) 109 Sho past a lytill of befoir to vesie hir sone.

  c. Used in contrast with after in various locutions to designate a set of two contrasting pictures, cartoons, etc., esp. illustrating the efficacy of a remedy, product, etc., alleged to produce a remarkable change for the better. Hence allusively.

1768 W. Hogarth in Trusler's Hogarth Moralized (Index), A List of Prints published by Mr. Hogarth... Before and After. 1846 Punch XI. 243/1 (captions) Before. After. Ibid., Here are two portraits, both of myself: the one before, the other after the cold Brandy-and-Water Cure. 1853 Ibid. XXV. 45 (title of cartoon representing a difference of opinion between cabman and fare) Before and after. 1889 Puck 3 July 307/1 I'm working a ‘before and after’ racket for a hair-renewer advertisement. 1902 Little Folks II. 432/1 Those restaurants which advertise by means of looking-glasses labelled ‘before’ and ‘after’. As you go in you behold yourself very thin..as you go out..fat and well-satisfied. 1938 N. Marsh Artists in Crime iii. 24 You're not doing a ‘before and after’, like a strip advertisement.

  B. prep. I. Of sequence in space.
  1. a. Of motion: In advance of, ahead of.

c 1000 ælfric Ex. xiii. 21 And Drihten fór beforan him and swutelode him þone weᵹ. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 5 Al þe hebreisce folc þe eode efter him and biuoren him. 1388 Wyclif Ex. xiii. 21 Forsothe the Lord ȝede bifore hem to schewe the weie. 1436 Test. Ebor. ii. (1855) 75 Pore men berand..torches before my cors. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 4 Theyr gyde..to go before them, and conducte or leade them. 1611 Bible Josh. viii. 10 And Ioshua..went vp; he, and the Elders of Israel, before the people to Ai. 1843 Macaulay Armada 20 Behind him march the halbardiers; before him sound the drums.

  b. Driven in front of, hurried on by; e.g. in the phrase before the wind: said of a ship sailing directly with the wind; also fig.

1598 W. Phillip Linschoten's Trav. in Arb. Garner III. 23 We got before the wind to the Cape of Good Hope. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 822 Tisiphone..Before her drives Diseases and Affright. 1726 Thomson Winter 171 Before the breath Of full exerted Heaven they wing their course. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1789) Arriver, to bear away before the wind. 1853 Kingsley Hypatia xviii, He had been only the leaf before the wind. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. i, Kept the boat in that direction going before the tide. Mod. A man who carries everything before him.

  c. Hence, with distinct causal force.

1535 Coverdale 1 Sam. viii. 33 Smytten before their enemies. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. iii. ii. 423 Thou runst before me. 1593 ― 2 Hen. VI, iv. ii. 37 Our enemies shall falle before us. 1599 ― Hen. V, iii. Cho. 34 Downe goes all before them. 1850 Mrs. Browning Poems I. 4 Recoil before that sorrow, if not this sword.

  2. a. Of position or direction: In front of.

[971 Blickl. Hom. 15 [He] ᵹehyrde myccle meniᵹo him be⁓foran feran.] a 1200 Moral Ode 44 in E.E.P. (1862) 25 He is buuen vs & bi-neþen . biforen & bi-hinde. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2272 Al ðo briðere..fellen bi-forn ðat louerd-is fot. c 1340 Cursor M. 15023 (Trin.) Biforn her kyng childre cast braunches broken of bowȝe. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 776 He caryed al this harneys him byforn. c 1450 Merlin xv. 237 He dide after many feire chiualries be-fore the castell. 1593 Hooker Eccl Pol. ii. iv. §5 Wks. 1841 I. 240 When many meats are set before me. 1652 Needham tr. Selden's Mare Cl. 96 Wee decree that every Man possess his Vestibula or Seas lying before his lands. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. viii. (1806) 42 On the grass-plot before our door. 1871 Black Dau. Heth xviii, Peering over the edge of the rock before him.

fig. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 84 Great statesmen who looked far behind them and far before them.

  b. In front of, at the beginning of (a writing).

1535 Joye Apol. Tindale 19 Tindals incharitable pistle set before hys newe Testament.

  c. before the face or eyes: = 3.

c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 111 Þine welan forrotiað biforan þine ehȝan. 1611 Bible Ps. xxxi. 22, I am cut off from before thine eies. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 12 ¶2 The Mistress..scolds at the Servants as heartily before my Face as behind my Back. 1832 Tennyson Talking Oak 3 Once more before my face I see the moulder'd Abbey-walls.

  d. before the mast: a phrase said of the common sailors, who are berthed in the forecastle in front of the fore-mast.

1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. ix. 39 The Boatswaine, and all the Yonkers or common Sailers vnder his command is to be before the Mast. 1840 R. Dana (title) Two years before the mast.

  3. a. In front of so as to be in the sight of; under the actual notice or cognizance of; in presence of.

c 1000 ælfric Ex. xi. 10 [Hi] worhton ealle þa wundru..beforan Faraone. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 53 Þe speket alse feire biforen heore euencristene. a 1300 Cursor M. 13137 Bifor þis king in his palis, His broþer doghter..Com..for to bale. c 1450 Henryson Tale of Dog 22 This summond is made befoir witnes. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 156 b, Though the kynge were before hym in his robes of golde, he wolde lytell regarde his royalte. 1601 F. Godwin Bps. Eng. 398 Preaching at Sittingborne before a great auditory. 1611 Bible John xii. 37 Though he had done..miracles before them. 1883 Gilmour Mongols xvii. 209 Those who will confess Him before their countrymen.

  b. spec. Said in reference to a tribunal, of the persons or matters of which it has cognizance.

c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxvii. 11 Ða stod se Hælend be⁓foran þam deman. c 1200 Ormin 6901 Wreȝedd Biforr þe Romanisshe king. 1512 Act 4 Hen. VIII, x, Any office or offices found before Eschetour or Eschetours. 1601 F. Godwin Bps. Eng. 451 Both of them being..before the Pope, they fell..into by matters and articling one against another. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 270 ¶1 As ill an Action as any that comes before the Magistrate. 1838 Arnold Hist. Rome (1848) I. 17 The appeal was tried before all the Romans. 1883 Law Rep. xi. Q. Bench Div. 595 The proceedings before the police court.

  c. with the added idea of deference toward.

1816 J. Wilson City of Plague i. i. 30 No knee..hath bent before its altar. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 146 The military power now humbled itself before the civil power.

  4. In the (mental) view of; in the opinion, regard, or consideration of. arch.

c 1000 ælfric Ex. iii. 21 Ic sylle þison folce ᵹife beforan þam Eᵹiptiscean folce. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke xv. 22 Fæder ic synᵹude on heofon & beforan ðe. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 15 Eour eyþer suneȝað biforan drihten. c 1200 Ormin 117 Teȝȝ wærenn biforenn Godd Rihhtwise menn. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. 14 Though this be not theft before the world, nor punishable by penall lawes. 1611 Bible Gen. xliii. 14 God Almightie giue you mercie before the man.

  5. a. Open to the knowledge of, displayed to or brought under the conscious knowledge or attention of. Hence, as an asseveration, before God! = As God knows, by God.

[c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke xii. 28 Swa hwylc swa me andet beforan mannum, þone mannes sunu andet beforan godes englum. c 1160 Hatton G. ibid., Beforen mannen..beforen godes ængles.] 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xvi. 139 By-for perpetuel pees · ich shal preoue þat ich seide, And a-vowe by⁓for God. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, v. ii. 149 Before God, Kate, I cannot looke greenely. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 9 ¶4 That of the Georges, which used to meet at the sign of the George..and swear ‘Before George.’ 1712 Steele ibid. No. 284 ¶6, I shall therefore with your Leave lay before you the whole Matter. 1815 Scribbleomania 234 The subject having been so recently before the public in all the diurnal prints. 1857 Buckle Civilis. I. xii. 671 The accusations brought against these great men are before the world.

  b. Claiming the attention of.

a 1711 Ken Div. Love Wks. (1838) 217 That which now lies before you is to shew, how your abrenunciation is preparatory to the love of God. 1857 Buckle Civilis. I. i. 19 The problem immediately before us, is to ascertain the method.

  6. In front of one in the course of action or of life; in prospect. a. Awaiting the coming action of, at the disposal of, open to. to have a penny before him: i.e. in hand for future needs, remaining over (now dial.).

[c 1000 ælfric Gen. xx. 15 Land liþ ætforan eow.] 1382 Wyclif Gen. xx. 15 The lond is bifore ȝow; where euer it shal plese to thee, dwel. c 1420 Sir Amadace xxix, In gud tyme were he borne, That hade a peny him bi-forne. 1535 Coverdale Gen. xx. 15 Beholde, my londe stondeth open before the [1611 is before thee], dwell where it liketh the. 1667 Milton P.L. xii. 646 The World was all before them, where to choose, Their place of rest. 1882 Hughes Life D. Macmillan ii. 10 He had the world before him.

  b. Ahead or in front of (one) in the future; awaiting.

1807 Crabbe Par. Reg. ii. 386 Their graves before them and their griefs behind. 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. iii. v, The golden age..which a blind tradition has hitherto placed in the Past, is Before us.

  II. Of time.
  7. Preceding in order of time; anterior to.

c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John i. 15 Se þe to cummene is æfter me wæs geworden beforan me. c 1200 Trin. Col. Hom. 219 Þe laste man is sib þe formeste, þe was biforn us. a 1300 E.E. Psalter lxxvii. 5 Our fadres us bifore. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. lvi. 40 They mowe lyuen as hyr auncestres dyde byforne hem. 1678 Cudworth Intell. Syst. i. i. §28. 35 All the other ancient Physiologers that were before Anaxagoras. 1819 Byron Juan i. v, Brave men were living before Agamemnon. 1870 Trollope Phineas Finn 401 It is so easy to be a lord if your father is one before you.

  8. Previous to, or earlier than (a point of time, date, or event).

c 1200 Ormin 177 He shall newenn cumenn forþ Biforenn Cristess come. a 1300 Cursor M. 4236 Es noght his murning may a-mend I trou bi-fore his liues ende. Ibid. 5064, I saghe þe neuer be-for þis day. 1485 Act 1 Hen. VII, x. §1 Byfore the fest of Ester than next ensuyng. 1506 Bury Wills (1850) 108, I anulle and revoke all the villes mad by for this date. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. iv. iv. 10 And why should wee proclaime it in an howre before his entring? 1712 Steele Spect. No. 493 ¶4 He wondered I was not dead before now. 1779 Johnson Dryden Wks. VII. 182 It was written before the Conquest of Granada. 1832 H. Martineau Life in Wilds iii. 39 Would be back before dark. 1848 Macaulay Hist. I. 561 Thirty-five years before this time.

  9. † a. Previous to a past space of time, before the beginning of. Obs. In mod. usage before three months is replaced by three months before. Cf. A 5.

c 1340 Cursor M. 10675 (Laud), Hyt was by-fore many a day commoundid in the olde lay.

  b. Previous to the expiration of a future space of time.

1865 Trollope Belton Est. xxvii. 326 This grief, I hope, may be cured some day before long. Mod. I hope to be there before another year.

  III. Of rank.
  10. In precedence of, superior to; in advance of in development.

c 1230 Hali Meid. 19 Se schene biforen alle oðre. a 1300 in Wright Pop. Sc. 367 Al that a man hath bifore a best. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 8 b, The philosophers that trusted in theyr owne connynge..that they had before other. 1676 Hobbes Iliad i. 266 Atrides is before you in command. 1755 Johnson s.v. Before, He is before his competitors both in right and power. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 413 The nation which was so far before its neighbours in science.

  11. In preference to; rather than.

c 1230 Hali Meid. 23 He menskeð ham se muchel biforen alle þe oðre. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. (1871) III. 83 Þow schalt not haue bifore me alyen Goddis. 1450 Q. Margaret in Four C. Eng. Lett. 8 To do you worship by wey of mariage, bifore all creatures lyvyng. 1611 Bible 2 Sam. vi. 21 The Lord, which chose me before thy father, & before all his house. 1653 Walton Angler i. 16 Action is..to be preferr'd before Contemplation. 1742 Young Nt. Th. (1751) 243 Why then is health preferr'd before disease? a 1884 Mod. They would die before yielding. 1897 C. Garnett tr. Turgenev's Torrents of Spring xliv. 240 Then Gemma..wished him before everything peace and a tranquil spirit. 1911 D. H. Lawrence White Peacock ii. ii. 231, I was a good animal before everything, and I've got some children.

  12. In comparison with, in respect to.

1711 Addison Spect. No. 98 ¶1 The Women were of such an enormous Stature, that we appeared as Grashoppers before them. 1832 Tennyson St. Agnes' Eve ii, So shows my soul before the Lamb, My spirit before Thee.

  C. conj. or conjunctive adv.
  1. Of time: Previous to the time when. a. orig. with that: now arch.

c 1200 Ormin 964 Biforenn þatt te Laferrd Crist Wass borenn her to manne. a 1300 Cursor M. 10603 Beforn þat sco was of hir moder born. 1382 Wyclif John viii. 58 Bifore that Abraham was maad, I am. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 280 a, Neither did he repaire vnto Sylla before that he had..vanquyshed diuerse capitaines of enemies. 1611 Bible John i. 48 Before that Philip called thee..I saw thee.

  b. without that.

c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. A. 529 On oure byfore þe sonne go doun. c 1400 Mandeville 18, 2000 ȝeer before oure Lord was born. 1503–4 Act 19 Hen. VII, xxxvi. Pream., Sir William..lay both at Surgery and fesyk..by the space of ij yeres..byfore he was able to ride. 1588 A. King Canisius' Catech. 76 The day befoir he sufferit. 1658 Ussher Ann. 405 Seleucus was dead before he came. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 1 ¶2, I threw away my Rattle before I was two Months old. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague i. ii. 90 Ay, she intends to look before she leaps.

  † c. Formerly also with ere (than), or. Obs.

1297 R. Glouc. 40 Fyf hundred ȝer..bifore Er þan oure Lord..on erþe was ybore. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 9 Be⁓fore ar anythyng was wroght. c 1400 Mandeville 83 Before or thei resceyve hem thei knelen doun.

  2. Of preference: Sooner than, rather than.

1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iii. ii. 303 Treble that, Before a friend..Shall lose a haire. Mod. I will die before I submit.

  D. Used as adj. and n.
  1. quasi-adj. = Anterior; previous.

1382 Wyclif 1 Esdras ix. 1 Risende up Esdras fro the beforn porche of the temple. c 1400 Test. Love i. (1560) 279 I rehearse thy before deed. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, iv. i. 179 Men are punisht for before breach of the Kings Lawes.

  2. quasi-n.

1850 Tennyson In Mem. xxvi. 3 Oh, if indeed that eye foresee Or see (in Him is no before) In more of life true life no more. 1897 Daily News 6 Mar. 6/1 One who has witnessed the before and after of the abolition of pain.

  E. Comb.
  1. a. In combination with participles where the hyphen has merely a syntactical value, showing that before is an adverbial qualification of the following pple., with sense of ‘previously, formerly’; as before-created, before-going, before-mentioned, before-named, before-noticed, before-recited, before-told, before-written, before-said.

1786 Burke W. Hastings Wks. XII. 360 The pernicious consequences of his *before-created unwarrantable, and illegal arrangements.

1606 Hieron Wks. I. 44 Let vs remember the *before-deliuered matter.

1382 Wyclif Rom. iii. 25 Remiscioun of *bifore goynge synnes.

1677 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. i. iv. 99 Somewhat which hath been before said touching the Question *before-going.

1593 Hooker Eccl. Pol. iii. xi. §9 Wks. 1841 I. 331 Till the time *before-mentioned was expired.

1671 F. Philipps Reg. Necess. 534 By the *beforemention'd Opinions of Sir Christopher Wray.

1815 Encycl. Brit. V. 781/1 The queen..takes all the steps of the *before-mentioned pieces.

1467 Bury Wills (1850) 48 The ferme of the seide londys, medews, and pasture *bee-for-namyd.

a 1626 Bacon New Atl. in Sylva (1658) 12 All the Nations *beforenamed.

1864 Times 13 Oct., A dry chapter on the *before-named science.

1807 Vancouver Agric. Devon (1813) 127 The mattock, *before-noticed, is used to grub up..the surface.

1786 Burke W. Hastings Wks. XII. 399 In consequence of all the *before-recited intrigues.

1697 Snake in Grass (ed. 2) 288 Like Fox's Apology *beforetold.

1825 Bentham Ration. Rew. 123 A new and *before-unknown splendour.

1382 Wyclif 2 Chron. xxx. 5 As in the lawe it is *befornwriten.

  b. The prep. in comb. with a n., used attrib.

1865 C. M. Yonge Clever Woman II. xiii. 248, I have just lighted on poor little Rosie's before-breakfast composition. 1898 Daily News 28 Sept. 5/1 The ‘before luncheon’ rehearsal. 1902 M. Barnes-Grundy Thames Camp 83 These before-breakfast expeditions. 1919 Wodehouse Damsel in Distress iv, A fellow with the appearance of a before using advertisement of an anti-fat medicine. 1926 D. H. Lawrence Glad Ghosts 64 The tender before-dawn freshness of a new understanding. 1966 ‘W. Cooper’ Memoirs of New Man iii. ii. 214 We were going upstairs to have our before-dinner drink in the library. 1968 D. Torr Treason Line 24 He had had his first before-breakfast swim of the year.

  c. The prep. in comb. with a n., as before-life.

1927 D. H. Lawrence Morn. Mex. 154 They were the lords of shadow, the intermediate twilight, the place of after-life and before-life.

  † 2. In many obsolete compound verbs and vbl. ns. etc., esp. in Wyclif, representing L. præ- and ante-, some of which have mod. representatives with fore-: as before-bar, to preclude, foreclose; before-casting, forecasting, pre-calculation; before-come, to prevent; before-cut; before-gird; before-goer, a predecessor; before-graithe, to prepare, make ready beforehand; before-had, held previously; before-know; before-passing, excelling; before-ripe, premature; before-runner; before-say, to predict, foretell; before-sayer, -speaker, a prophet; before-see; before-set, to promote, set over; before-show; before-sing; before-stretch, to extend forth; before-take, to anticipate; before-taste; before-tell; before-walling, antemurale, outer defence; before-warn; before-weave, to fringe, hem in, prætexere; before-witting, foreknowledge.

c 1449 Pecock Repr. v. i. 477 What euer religioun lettith and *biforbarrith.

Ibid. v. i. 478 Alle..letten and *bifore-barren, ȝhe and forbeden, thilk religioun to be doon & usid.

1388 Wyclif Ex. xxi. 14 If ony man sleeth his nieȝbore bi *beforecastyng.

1382 ― 2 Macc. xiv. 31 As he knewȝ hym strongly *byforecummen of the man.

― Dan. iv. 11 *Bifore-kitte ȝe the braunchis therof.

― Ps. xvii. 33 God that *befor-girte me with vertue.

― Gal. i. 17 Nether I cam to Ierusalem to my *bifore goeris apostlis.

c 1388 in Wyclif's Sel. Wks. 1871 III. 476 He þat is *biforegoar be he as a servant.

1382 Wyclif Ps. lxxxviii. 5 In to withoute ende I shal *beforgreithe thi seed.

Ibid. 15 Riȝtwisnesse and dom *beforgreithing of thi sete.

― Gen. xl. 13 Pharao shal restore thee to the *biforehad gree.

1388 ― Gen. xv. 13 God *biforeknew also the things to comynge.

1382 ― 2 Pet. i. 16 The vertu and prescience, or *bifore knowing.

― Ecclus. xxxiii. 23 In alle thi werkes *beforn passende be thou [1388 be thou souereyn].

1388 ― Num. xiii. 21 The *before rijp grapes.

1382 ― Ex. xxxiii. 2 Y shal sende an aungel, thi *before renner.

― Isa. xlviii. 5, I *beforn-seide to thee fro thanne, er thei camen I shewede to thee.

― Deut. viii. 19 Loo! now y *before seye to thee, that vtterly thow schalt perishe.

1388 ― Eccles. iv. 13 That cannot *bifore se in to tyme to comynge,

1382 ― Ecclus. xvii. 14 Into eche folc of kinde he *beforn sette a gouernour.

c 1440 Promp. Parv. 28 *Before sette, prefixus.

1382 Wyclif Gen. xli. 11 A sweuen *biforeshewynge of thingis that ben to comun.

1388 ― Ps. cxlvi. 7 *Bifore synge ȝe to the Lord. ― Ex. xv. 21 With the whiche she beforesonge.

c 1400 ― Ex. vii. 1 (MS. B), Profete, that is, interpretour other *biforspekere.

1382 ― Ps. xxxv. 11 *Beforstrecche thi mercy to men.

― Ps. lxxviii. 8 Soone shul *befortaken vs thi mercies.

1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 150 A *before tastynge of the ioye and glory of heuen.

1382 Wyclif Ps. xlix. 6 Heuenes shulen his riȝtwisnes *beforetelle.

― Isa. xxvi. 1 The wal and the *biforwalling.

― Wisd. xviii. 19 The viseouns..these thingus *bifornwarneden.

― Job xxxvi. 28 The cloudis..that *beforeweuen alle thingus theraboue.

c 1400 Test. Love iii. (1560) 298 In the chapitre of Gods *beforneweting..all these matters apertely may be founden.

Oxford English Dictionary