afore

adverb or conjunction or preposition

ə-ˈfȯr 

chiefly dialectal

: before

Synonyms

• ahead
• already
• antecedently
• anteriorly
• before
• beforehand
• earlier
• formerly
• preliminarily
• previously

Examples of afore in a Sentence

some young boys raced afore to tell onlookers that the parade was about to kick off

my father, his father, and even his father afore him farmed this land

a majestic sailing ship going full speed afore the wind

Word History

Etymology

Middle English aforen, aforn, afore, going back to Old English onforan, from on on entry 1 + foran "(from) in front, before," from fore "in front, fore entry 2" + -an, -ane "from (a place)" (going back to Germanic *-na) — more at aft entry 1

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

afore

adverb or conjunction or preposition

ə-ˈfō(ə)r 

-ˈfȯ(ə)r

chiefly dialect

: before