ere

alternative yer

1. not comparableobsoleteAt an earlier time.First known use 10th–17th c.

   Thys is he of whome I ſpake / he that cõmeth after me / was befoꝛe me be cauſe he was yer thẽ I.

   This is he of whom I spoke; he that comes after me was before me because he was earlier than I.

   1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, John j:[30], folio cxix, verso

alternative yer

1. archaicpoeticBefore; sooner than.

   My ſelfe was ſtirring ere the breake of day, […]

   1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], →OCLC, signature I3, verso

   1 more example

   The hill-tops rejoicing will ere long be at their ruddiest, and blush Good-night.

   1837, Thomas Carlyle, “Old-Dragoon Drouet”, in The French Revolution: A History […], volume II (The Constitution), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, book IV (Varennes), page 173

alternative yer

1. archaicpoeticbefore.

   Syꝛ, come downe ere my child die.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 4:49, column 1

plural eres

1. obsoleteObsolete form of ear.

   As plesaunt to the ere as the blacke sanctus Of a sad sorte vpon a mery pyn.

   1533, R. Saltwood, (Please provide the book title or journal name)

alternative 'ere

1. IrelandcontractioninformalA contraction of is, there, and the indefinite article. Mainly used in questions.

   'Ere bit o' bacon in it, Kathleen?

1. A language spoken on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.

plural EREs

1. abbreviationinitialismcomputingInitialism of extended regular expression.