forespurrer

plural forespurrers

1. One who spurs or rides ahead; a vanguard or harbinger.

   A day in April never came so sweet, To show how costly summer was at hand, As this forespurrer comes before his lord.

   c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ix]

   1 more example

   The records of lost opportunities serve as warnings and incentives to those who aim to be forespurrers among men. They impress the great value of building upon the strong foundations of dogged work while vividly picturing the tottering and [...]

   1900, The Medical Times, volume 28, page 25