tofore
English
Alternative forms
- toforne (14th – 16th centuries)
Etymology
From Middle English tofore, toforn, from Old English tōforan (“in front of”), from tō (“to”) + foran (“front, fore-part”, n.), dative case of fora (“front”). Compare Dutch tevoren (“previously”), German zuvor (“before, previously”). More at to, fore.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /təˈfɔː(ɹ)/
Preposition
tofore
- (obsolete) Before.
Derived terms
Adverb
tofore (not comparable)
- (obsolete) Before, previously.
- 1592, William Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus:
- Farewell, Lavinia, my noble sister ; O would thou wert as thou tofore hast been!
Conjunction
tofore
- (obsolete) Before.
Anagrams
Middle English
Alternative forms
- (adverb and preposition): toforen, tofor, toforon, toforn, toforne, toforan, toffor, toffore, tofforn, toforowe, tofour, tovor, tovore, tovoren, tefor, tefore, teforen
- (conjunction): toforn, tofor, to-fore, to-forn, to-for
Etymology
From Old English tōforan; equivalent to to- + fore.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /toːˈfɔːr(ə)/, /toːˈfɔːr(ə)n/, /tɔ-/, /tə-/
Adverb
tofore
- In front, ahead; in the first position in a sequence.
- At a prior time; beforehand, earlier.
- (in texts) Found above; found in a prior section.
Descendants
- English: tofore (obsolete)
References
- “tofore(n, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 10 April 2018.
Preposition
tofore
- In front of.
- Closer than something (with reference to the speaker).
- In the presence of; before.
- Earlier than; prior to.
- To a degree greater than; more so than.
Descendants
- English: tofore (obsolete)
References
- “tofore(n, prep.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 10 April 2018.
Conjunction
tofore
- Indicates that the antecedent clause occurred before the consequent clause in time.
- 1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [Le Morte Darthur], (please specify the book number), [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: David Nutt, […], 1889, →OCLC:
- Never sith myght he be heled, ne nought shal tofore we come to hym.
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Usage notes
- As a conjunction, tofore is often paired with þat.
References
- “tofore, conj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 10 April 2018.
Old English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈtoːˌfoː.re/
Verb
tōfōre
- inflection of tōfaran:
- second-person singular preterite indicative
- singular preterite subjunctive
Ternate
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˌto.ˈfo.re]
Verb
tofore
- (intransitive) to tremble
Conjugation
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
inclusive | exclusive | |||
1st person | totofore | fotofore | mitofore | |
2nd person | notofore | nitofore | ||
3rd person |
masculine | otofore | itofore yotofore (archaic) | |
feminine | motofore | |||
neuter | itofore |
References
- Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh