beforetime

B3E1F4O1R1E1T1I1M3E1
UK/bɪˈfɔːtʌɪm/

adverb

Formerly, previously.

Scrabble 17
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Meanings

adverbbeforetime (not comparable)
  1. archaicnot comparableFormerly, previously.

    Thou shalt see Gold tarnished, and the grey above the green And as the thing thou seest thy face shall be And no more as the thing beforetime seen.

    1866, Algernon Charles Swinburne, “A Ballad of Burdens”, in Poems and Ballads, London: J. C. Hotten, page 145, lines 33–36
    1 more example

    There was a certayne man called Simon, which beforetyme in the same cite, used witchecrafte and bewithched the people, sayinge that he was a man that coulde do greate thinges.

    1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
formerlysometimeswhilerewhilom

Origin

From before + time.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

beforetime. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beforetime

MLA

“beforetime.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beforetime. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “beforetime,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beforetime.

Source: beforetime on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.