afore
2
9.9
- adverb
- /əˈfɔː/
- Archaic
- Oh, well, let's rest a minute afore we fill it in, eh?
Examples
-
The traps will be at the door afore you can say "Spitalfields."
-
Let's get out of here afore they get a bead on us.
-
Yes, I will drink, I thank you, afore I go.
-
And what you have to say, sir, I have heard many a time afore.
-
Once the event is over, emotions take over and all the things said afore are forgotten immediately.
Blog text (25) -
"Have you ever been burgled afore?"
Fiction book (2002) -
Got orders night afore last to join the soldiers at Apache Wells.
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They was halfway up the stairs afore I could blink.
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Oh, aye, and then old Flinty up and died afore they could get back to that cursed island and dig up the treasure.
-
I had never seen her smile so brightly afore that day.
Synonyms
799
1.1
At an earlier time than now or the time mentioned
18
9.7
Before this time
1
8.7
Happens at an earlier time than something else
1
9.9
Happening long ago
Before now or before a particular event
Surface Forms
Morphology
afore = (semi-transparent) = a + fore
The form is historically compositional as a- + fore, but the archaic prefix and limited modern productivity make the meaning only partly transparent to contemporary learners. [Postprocessing: moved 'fore' from base_words to prefix]
Etymology
Afore used to mean 'before' in time and comes from old English a- ('at') plus fore ('front' or 'before'), so a helpful way to remember it is as 'at the front of time'. That's why saying you saw something afore means you saw it 'earlier' or 'previously'.