ere

ere · adverb, preposition, conjunction¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*h₂éyeri“day, morning”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*airi“early”
3. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*airiz
4. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*airi
5. Old English · inherited fromǣr
6. Middle English · inherited fromer
7. English todayere

From Middle English er, from Old English ǣr (adverb, conjunction, and preposition), from Proto-West Germanic *airi, from Proto-Germanic *airiz, comparative of Proto-Germanic *airi (“early”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éyeri (“day, morning”) (compare Avestan 𐬀𐬫𐬀𐬭 (ayar, “day”), Gk. ἠέριος (ēérios, “at daybreak”), see also era, Albanian herët (“early in the morning, at daybreak”) ). The adverb erstwhile retains the Old English superlative ǣrest (“earliest”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian eer (“before”), Dutch eer (“before, sooner than”), German ehe (“before”).

ere · contraction²

Formed from is + there + a/an.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• 10th–17th c. At an earlier time.