ainçois
Middle French
Alternative forms
- aincois (some manuscripts do not use the character ç)
- ainçoiz
Etymology
Adverb
ainçois
- before (at a previous time)
References
- Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (ainçois)
Old French
Alternative forms
- aincois (manuscript form)
Etymology
Either from Vulgar Latin *ante ipsum (literally "before the very same") or simply an emphatic form of Old French ainz, derived from *antius, from ante + -ius. According to Antion Thomas in Romania (number 14, 1885), the latter explanation is more likely, as ainz and ainçois have essentially the same function and sense in Old French.
Adverb
ainçois
- before (at a previous time)
References
- Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (ainçois)