Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Before

Be·fore′ (bē·fōr′), 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.

☞ 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.

☞ Before is often used in self-explaining compounds; as, before-cited, before-mentioned; beforesaid.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty.