afore
UK /əˈfɔː/ · US /əˈfoɹ/ adverb, preposition, conjunction
Forms affor avore
- adverb (archaic, dialect) Before, temporally.
- adverb (archaic, dialect) Before, in front, spatially.
- adverb (nautical) In the fore part of a ship.
- preposition Before; in advance of the time of.
- preposition Before; situated geographically or metaphorically in front of.
- conjunction In advance of the time when; before.
Etymology
From Middle English afore, aforn, from Old English onforan or ætforan; equivalent to a- + fore.
Webster’s 1913
- adverb Before. [Obs.]
- adverb In the fore part of a vessel.
- preposition Before (in all its senses). [Archaic]
- preposition Before; in front of; farther forward than; as, afore the windlass. Afore the mast, among the common sailors; --a phrase used to distinguish the ship's crew from the officers.
Etymology [OE. afore, aforn, AS. onforan or ætforan; pref. a- + fore.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “afore”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details