Etymologically
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beforehand

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /bɪˈfɔːhænd/[1]
  • US: /bɪˈfoɹhænd/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English before hand, also beforen hand, originally written separately,[2][3][4] formed from English before + hand.[5][6][2][7] Etymonline finds the sense of hand here unclear, unless the first idea was payment in advance or something done before another person's hand could do it.[6] The OED and the Oxford Dictionary of English think it was influenced in later use by Anglo-Norman avantmain (“in advance”) (by about 1285), used of payment in advance and in general, and by Old French avant les mains and avant la main, which meant the same;[5][4][3] the OED compares Latin prae manū (“at hand, in readiness”) and the English aforehand.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ahead of time, in advance: about 1225, in the Ancrene Riwle.[5] Etymonline dates it to the early 13th century,[6] Merriam-Webster to the 13th,[2] and Dictionary.com to 1175–1225.[7]

Semantic evolution

From about 1325, in the chronicle of Robert of Gloucester, it was used especially of money paid in advance.[5] It could also mean simply "previously", without the idea of anticipation, from about 1330, a use that later became rare.[5] From 1526 to the mid-19th century to have beforehand meant to have more money than one needed;[5] Johnson (1755) defined it as "in a state of accumulation",[8] and the Shorter Oxford calls this use archaic.[3] The phrase to be beforehand with, to anticipate or forestall, is recorded from 1574, in Golding's translation of Calvin.[5][3][8] The word was hyphenated from the 18th century and written as one word from the 19th.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1225 – in advance, in anticipation, in the Ancrene Riwle.[5]
  • c. 1325 – of payment in advance.[5]
  • c. 1330 – previously, before the time in question.[5]
  • 1526 – having more than enough money (obsolete by 1849).[5]
  • 1574 – to be beforehand with, to anticipate or forestall.[5]
  • 1700s – written with a hyphen; one word from the 1800s.[6]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. In advance; ahead of time: Ring the restaurant beforehand to book a table.[9][2][5]
  2. In anticipation, so as to be prepared.[2][5][8]
  3. Earlier; previously.[2][5]

Adjective

  1. (after a noun or verb) Early, in advance;[9][3] be beforehand with: to anticipate or forestall.[9][3][5]
  2. (archaic) Having more money than one needs; in funds.[3][5][8]
  • before
  • hand
  • aforehand
  • forehand

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  8. ^ a b c d Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins