Before \Be*fore"\, 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.
Note: 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.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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