Afore

.
historical examples

this was afore he got married, sim; his wife’s tamed him a little.
the depot master joseph c. lincoln

i teede hey, i tourne it afore it is made in c-ckes, je fene.
the romance of names ernest weekley

here’s a bit of a treeho, lads, as i bought in brummagem the day afore yesterday.
aunt rachel david christie murray

there’s another key that the mistress used to have afore she died, the creature.
the northern iron george a. birmingham

an’ i’m thinkin’, liz,’ says i, ‘he’ll say things no man ever said afore—t’ you.’
quaint courtships various

the noise may bring mr. peet up here, and—and—i must get in afore he comes.
chatterbox, 1906 various

there was never the wale of him sinsyne, and it’s a question wi’ mony if there ever was his like afore.
david balfour, second part robert louis stevenson

“we mought light the fires now, afore we finish planting matt,” said kit.
field and forest oliver optic

“where his betters have been ‘afore him,” answered the mummy.
the mysteries of london, v. 1/4 george w. m. reynolds

i lost my pride, tumm, as you knows, afore we moved down the labrador.
harbor tales down north norman duncan

adverb, preposition, conjunction
an archaic or dialect word for before
adv.

old english onforan “before, at the beginning of, in front of,” from phrase on foran, from on (prep.) + foran (adv.) “in front,” dative of for.

in some cases probably it represents old english ætforan “at-fore.” once the literary equivalent of before, now it has mostly been replaced by that word except in nautical use and in combinations such as aforesaid and aforethought.