ere

1 of 2

preposition

ˈer 

old-fashioned + literary

: preceding in time : earlier than : before entry 2 sense 2

ere nightfall

'The wind is north from the snows,' said Aragorn. 'And ere morning it will be in the East,' said Legolas.

—J. R. R. Tolkien

ere

2 of 2

conjunction

old-fashioned + literary

: before entry 3

"Rumor has it that there will be a wedding in our village ere the daisies are in bloom. … "

—Lucy Maud Montgomery

I was scarcely in position ere my enemies began to arrive …

—Robert Louis Stevenson

Synonyms

Preposition

• afore [chiefly dialect]
• ahead of
• before
• fore [chiefly dialect]
• 'fore
• of
• previous to
• prior to
• to

Examples of ere in a Sentence

Preposition

an old typewriter that was a relic of that ancient time ere the invention of personal computers

Word History

Etymology

Preposition

Middle English er, from Old English ǣr, from ǣr, adverb, early, soon; akin to Old High German ēr earlier, Greek ēri early

First Known Use

Preposition

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Conjunction

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

ere

1 of 2 preposition

(ˌ)e(ə)r 

(ˌ)a(ə)r

: before entry 2 sense 3

ere

2 of 2 conjunction

: before entry 3 sense 2