before

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English biforen, also beforen,^[2][3] inherited from Old English beforan, also biforan, "in front, ahead",^[3][4][2] a compound of be- (“by”) and foran (“in front”), from fore.^[3][2][5][6] Etymonline and Ayto place the compound in Proto-Germanic, as Proto-Germanic *bi- (“by”) and *forana (“from the front”), an adverb from *fora,^[7][8] which Ayto calls the source of for and Etymonline traces to Proto-Indo-European *per- (“forward”).^[8][7] Barnhart calls it a common Germanic compound,^[3] with Old Frisian bifara, Old Saxon biforan and Old High German bifora, whence German bevor, now a conjunction;^{[3][7][9][10]} the OED leaves open whether these are cognates or similar formations.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

In front, ahead; in the presence of; earlier in time: Old English beforan, recorded about 725 in Beowulf, and biforan, about 750 in Cynewulf's poetry.^[3][7]

Semantic evolution

The spatial senses came first, but the OED now calls them somewhat archaic;^[10] the temporal sense "earlier, previously" is already recorded in King Alfred's translation of Boethius.^[10] Old English also used the word for "openly, to someone's face" (obsolete by 1883).^[10] Ayto notes that the base fora itself originally meant "before" and only gradually took on the senses of modern for.^[8] The conjunction, "previous to the time when", is from about 1200;^[7] Merriam-Webster dates it to the 13th century.^[11] With a stated length of time (two days before) the adverb is recorded from about 1325, and figuratively of the future from before 1425.^[10] Hogarth's contrast of before and after in pictures dates from 1768,^[7] and sailors called a common seaman's life before the mast, from the berths in front of the foremast.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 725 – beforan, in front, ahead, in Beowulf.^[3]
• c. 750 – the form biforan, in Cynewulf.^[3]
• Old English – earlier, previously, in Alfred's translation of Boethius.^[10]
• Old English – openly, to a person's face (obsolete by 1883).^[10]
• c. 1175 – the Middle English form beforen.^[3]
• c. 1200 – conjunction, earlier than the time when.^[7]
• c. 1325 – with a stated length of time, as in two days before.^[10]
• before 1425 – figurative, into the future.^[10]
• 1768 – before and after contrasted in pictures, by Hogarth.^[7]

Meanings

Preposition

1. Earlier than: We left before dawn.^[12][11]
2. In front of; ahead of: She stood before the mirror.^[12][11]
3. In the presence of, or to be judged by: He appeared before the committee.^[12]
4. Faced with: The troops fell back before the attack.^[12]
5. In preference to: She puts her family before her career.^[12]

Adverb

1. At an earlier time; previously, already: I have seen this film before.^[12][11]
2. Ahead, in front.^[11][12][10]

Conjunction

1. Earlier than the time when: Call me before you leave.^[12][11]
2. Rather than: I'd walk before I'd ask him for a lift.^[12][11]

Related words

• fore
• for
• by
• afore
• beforehand
• former
• first
• from

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
12. ^ a b c d e f g h i Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins