ere

[ air ]

/ ɛər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ere ON THESAURUS.COM

preposition, conjunction

before.

RELATED WORDS

before, prior, rather

Nearby words

Origin of ere

before 900; Middle English; Old English ǣr, ēr (cognate with German ehr), comparative of ār soon, early; cognate with Gothic air. See erst, early

Can be confusedair e'er ere err heir

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ere

And I are been thinkin' about them 'ere red-skinned varmints.
Indian and Scout|F. S. Brereton
Only Messrs. Seward and Bates hang timidly behind, waiting for stronger manifestations, ere they hang out their flags.
Continental Monthly , Vol I, Issue I, January 1862|Various
Ere he reached the spot, a ball hit him on the ankle, and shivered the joint to pieces.
Our Soldiers|W.H.G. Kingston
He considered for a minute or two—an age it appeared to me—ere he answered.
Our Home in the Silver West|Gordon Stables

I wish the children was 'ere,' he sez; 'but you couldn't get 'em all in this little room.
Mad Shepherds|L. P. Jacks

British Dictionary definitions for ere

ere

/ (ɛə) /

conjunction, preposition

a poetic word for before

Word Origin for ere

Old English ǣr; related to Old Norse ār early, Gothic airis earlier, Old High German ēr earlier, Greek eri early

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ere

ere

prep.

c.1200, from Old English ær (adv., conj., & prep.) "soon, before (in time)," from Proto-Germanic *airiz, comparative of *air "early" (cf. Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Old High German er, Dutch eer; German eher "earlier;" Old Norse ar "early;" Gothic air "early," airis "earlier"), from PIE *ayer- "day, morning" (cf. Avestan ayar "day;" Greek eerios "at daybreak," ariston "breakfast"). The adverb erstwhile retains the Old English superlative ærest "earliest."