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Gallia est omnis dīvīsa in partēs trēs, quārum ūnam incolunt Belgae.

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Contents (25 senses)
S&H Smith & Hall (1)
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Source & Attribution
Digitized by Distributed Proofreaders from William Smith and Theophilus D. Hall, A Copious and Critical English-Latin Dictionary (1871), and generously placed into the public domain.
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• before:
  1. A. Prep.:
    1. I. In front of:
      1. 1. antĕ (with acc.): I see him b. the house, eum ante aedes video, Pl.: he sends all the cavalry b. him, equitatum omnem ante se mittit, Caes.: behind me was Aegina, b. me, Megara, post me erat Aegina, ante Megara, Sulpic. ap. Cic.: Tac.
      2. 2. prae (with abl.: of what is only a little way on before: usu. with verbs of motion, and esp. before pron. reflect.): he drives the herd b. him, prae se armentum agit, Liv.: he sent the unarmed b. him, prae se inermes misit, Sall.
      3. 3. prō (the most usu. prep. for directly in front of: with abl.): they were on guard b. the gates, pro portis in statione erant, Caes.: Cic.: Tac.: v. in front of.
      4. 4. ŏb (of that which presents itself, esp. to the eyes: with acc.): a mist b. the eyes, ob oculos caligo, Pl.: death has often appeared b. his eyes, mors ob oculos saepe versata est, Cic.
      5. 5. adversus (= opposite to: with acc.): he dresses every day b. a mirror, quotidie ad. speculum ornatur, Gell. (a rare idiom). Phr.: he draws up his forces b. the camp, copias ante frontem castrorum struit, Caes.: I see a ship sailing b. the wind, video navem secundis ventis cursum tenentem suum, Cic.
    2. II. In the presence of (usu. with an implication of authority or jurisdiction):
      1. 1. antĕ: to plead a cause b. the praetor, causam ante praetorem dicere, Cic.
      2. 2. ăd (esp. after such words as to speak, accuse, defend): no one could bring you b. the Roman people, nemo te ad populum R. adducere poterat, Cic.: this is the usual course b. a jury, ad judices sic agi solet, Cic.: to accuse any one b. a praetor, aliquem ad praetorem reum facere, Liv.
      3. 3. ăpŭd (with acc.: used in similar cases to ad, but more frequently): he was brought to trial b. a jury, apud judices reus est factus, Cic.: he spoke b. the senate, verba apud senatum fecit, Cic.: Caesar made an harangue b. the soldiers, Caesar apud milites contionatus est, Caes.
      4. 4. cōram (with abl.): what did you dare to say b. my son-in-law? c. genero meo quae dicere ausus es? Cic.: v. presence of, in. Phr.: to bring any one b. a court of justice, aliquem in judicium adducere, Cic.
    3. III. In preference to:
      1. 1. antĕ: whom I love b. myself, quem ante me diligo, Cic.: the Greeks were b. the Romans in eloquence, facundia Graeci ante Romanos fuerunt, Sall.
      2. 2. prae (with abl.): v. comparison with, in; MORE THAN.
    4. IV. Preceding (in time):
      1. 1. antĕ: b. this day, ante hunc diem, Ter.: b. night, ante noctem, Hor.: b. the foundation of this city, ante hanc urbem conditam, Cic.: b. the proper time, ante tempus, Liv.
      2. 2. suprā (with acc.: infrequent): a little b. the present generation, paulo s. hanc memoriam, Caes.: Liv. N.B. When "before" is connected with verbs of motion, it is gen. expressed in Latin by the prefixes of the verbs: the lictors used to go before the praetors with two fasces, lictores praetoribus ante ibant cum fascibus duobus, Cic.: Pompey had gone b. the legions, Pompeius legiones antecesserat, Cic.: the lictors used to go b. the consuls, consulibus lictores praeibant, Cic.
  2. B. Adverb:
    1. I. Of time:
      1. 1. antĕ (with either an abl. or an acc. which denotes duration, and is not dependent on ante): a very few days b., perpaucis ante diebus, Cic.: you were lost four years b., ante quadriennium amissus es, Tac.: some years b., aliquot ante annos, Suet.: I foresaw long b. that there would be a storm, multo ante prospexi tempestatem futuram, Cic.
      2. 2. antĕquam (a kind of conjunction, and used to connect clauses: sometimes written as two separate words): that he might see you b. he died, ut te ante videret quam e vita discederet, Cic.: you will have no letter from me before I am settled somewhere, antequam aliquo loco consedero, literas a me non habebis, Cic.: I was always his friend b. he became an enemy to his country, ei fui semper amicus antequam ille reipublicae est factus inimicus, Cic.
      3. 3. prĭus (rare): all things have been tried b., cuncta prius tentata, Ov.
      4. 4. prĭusquam, or separately prius ... quam (v. antĕquam): they are here b. it dawns, priusquam lucet, assunt, Pl.: b. he attempted anything, he ordered the brother to be called to him, priusquam quidquam conaretur, fratrem ad se vocari jubet, Caes.: nor did they give over flight b. they arrived at the river Rhine, neque prius fugere destiterunt quam ad flumen Rhenum pervenerunt, Caes.: Cic. (Concerning the mood which follows priusquam, v. L. G.) Phr.: the day b. I came to Athens, pridie quam ego Athenas veni, Cic.: v. formerly, previously, above.
    2. II. Of space: prae: go you b., maiden, i tu prae, virgo, Pl.: go b., I will follow, i prae, sequar, Pl. Phr.: if he come into Gaul he will be hemmed in behind, b., on his flanks, a tergo, a fronte, a lateribus tenebitur, si in Galliam venerit, Cic. N.B. "Before" as an adverb is very often expressed by the prefixes of the Latin verbs: as, to bear b., antefero; to go b., anteeo, etc.: for which see the several words.