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S&H Smith & Hall (4)

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• before:

A. Prep.:

I. In front of:

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

II. In the presence of (usu. with an implication of authority or jurisdiction):

1. antĕ: to plead a cause b. the praetor, causam ante praetorem dicere, Cic.
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. 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. 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.

III. In preference to:

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. prae (with abl.): v. comparison with, in; MORE THAN.

IV. Preceding (in time):

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. 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.

B. Adverb:

I. Of time:

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. 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. prĭus (rare): all things have been tried b., cuncta prius tentata, Ov.
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.

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.

get ahead of Copy link

Outline

1. praevĕnio, vēni, ntum, 4
2. antĕvĕnio, 4
3. praecurro, 3

• get ahead of, or before: or, get the start of:

1. praevĕnio, vēni, ntum, 4: to g. the start of any one by a shorter route, (aliquem) breviore via pr., Liv. 22, 24, med.: Ov.
2. antĕvĕnio, 4: to g. ahead of any one by long marches, aliquem magnis itineribus a., Sall. Jug. 56, init.
3. praecurro, 3: v. to outrun. Phr.: (Caesar) when he had got ahead on the road to Dyrrachium, praeoccupato itinere ad D., Caes. B. C. 3, 13: v. to anticipate.

haste forwards Copy link

Outline

1. praecurro, cŭcurri (curri), cursum, 3
2. excurro, 3

• haste forwards, before:

1. praecurro, cŭcurri (curri), cursum, 3: strengthened by propere, Ter. Hec. 3, 3, 10: the cavalry h. forward, pr. equites, Caes. B. G. 6, 39.
2. excurro, 3: to h. forward to meet any one, ex. ad aliquem, Cic. Fam. 3, 7, med.

place at Copy link

Outline

1. appōno, 3 (foll. by acc. and dat.; also with prep. ad repeated)
2. applĭco, āvi and ui, ātum and (later) ĭtum, 1 (foll. by acc. and prep. ad repeated; less freq. dat.)

• place at, before, against:

1. appōno, 3 (foll. by acc. and dat.; also with prep. ad repeated): to p. before any one a sufficiency, alicui ap. tantum quod satis sit, Cic. Tusc. 5, 32, 91: to p. a mark against a bad verse, ad malum versum notam ap., id. in Pis. 30, init.
2. applĭco, āvi and ui, ātum and (later) ĭtum, 1 (foll. by acc. and prep. ad repeated; less freq. dat.): to p. one wing of an army near a town, alterum cornu ad oppidum a., Liv. 27, 2: Cic.

R&A Riddle & Arnold (1)

Source

BEFORE Copy link

• BEFORE

to express priority in space and time: ante (before, without reference to nearness or distance, denotes the relation of precedence with reference to a subsequent object, and is opposed to “behind,” whetherin time or space): ob (before, in space only, with reference to the surface of an object): pro (before, forward: of direction or position with reference to an object behind it): before my censorship, consulship, etc., ante me censorem, consulem: before his death, ante obitum, vivus. The day before, pridie ejus diei: abhinc (ago: reckoning back from the present time; the numeral and its substantive may be either in the accusative or ablative, but it must be a cardinal, not an ordinal, and abhinc must stand first; e.g., four years before the present time, abhinc quatuor annos): to sail before the wind, secundo vento cursum tenere: before the city, ante urbem: before the camp, ante castra; pro castris; before the door, ante januam; a janua (e.g., to look out before the door, a janua prospicere). I have that always before my eyes, id mihi semper obversatur ante oculos (Cic..): before the feet, ante pedes: before the eyes, ante oculos (positum esse); ob oculos (versari); ante oculos versari: before the time, ante tempus; ante diem: a long time before, olim: to ride before anybody, aliquem equo anteire: to go before anybody, aliquem anteire, antecedere, antegredi. He died before his father, prior quam pater moriebatur: to drive a herd before one, prae se armentum agere: to send anybody before one, aliquem ante se mittere; praemittere: to have the river before one, flumen prae se habere: he arrived two days before me, biduo me antecessit (Cic.).
In the presence of, coram: before anybody, coram aliquo; praesente aliquo; inspectante aliquo: to speak before the people, coram populo dicere (if the people are accidentally present); apud populum dicere (if the people are officially present): to praise anybody before his face, aliquem in os laudare.
Sometimes “before” is rendered in Latin merely by a case; e.g., to rise or stand up before anybody, alicui assurgere: to humble one’s self before anybody, alicui se demittere: to flee before anybody, aliquem or alicujus aspectum fugere: ante (standing before, especially in comparison with one other): praeter (beyond, more than, etc.). Vid: Prae never implies such pre-eminence as may exist among equals, but a putting aside of all the rest in comparison with this (“Si dicas, ‘hic est prae ceteris dignus,’ hoc dicas: hic dignus est, ceteri non item,” Frotscher).
“Before” of pre-eminence or comparative superiority: to stand before Alexander (to surpass him), ante Alexandrum esse: to love anybody before others, aliquem praeter ceteros amare (but not aliquem prae ceteris amare, which would mean to love anybody alone, and not to love others): to be before all others in worth, praeter ceteros dignum esse (not prae ceteris dignum esse, i. e., alone worthy, others not being so): to be before anybody in any thing, praestare alicui aliqua re; antecellere alicui aliqua re.
Sometimes “before” means “under the jurisdiction;” as, to bring anybody before the judge, aliquem ad judicem adducere: to summon before a court, aliquem in jus vocare.

without case, is often rendered by ante or prae in composition: ante, antea; antehac (pefore this, hitherto): prius, citius; in fronte; ante pectus, in pectore; supra (above): go you before, I will follow, I prae; sequar. I ought to have declared the matter before, oportuit rem praenarrasse me: you must speak before, we afterward, vos priores esse oportet, nos posterius dicere: to go before, praeire, priorem ire: the enemy pressing on them before, cum hostis instaret a fronte: shortly before, paulo ante: long before, multo ante, ante multo, longe ante: a few days before, paucis ante diebus, paucis diebus ante: before you come to the gate, priusquam ad portam venias: the year before he died, anno antequam mortuus est: he who was consul the year before, superioris anni consul: as I have said before, ut supra dixi, ut supra dictum est: to taste before, praegustare: never before, antehac nunquam, nunquam ante hunc diem.
Before, before that (of time), prius quam or priusquam, ante quam or antequam, antea quam or anteaquam (all with indicative or subjunctive): before I depart this life, antequam ex hac vita migro: the year before I was censor, anno ante me censorem: the day before I wrote these things, pridie quam haec scripsi: before any authority came from you, nondum interposita auctoritate vestra.
Before, beforetime, in former time, olim, quondam.
Rather, sooner, potius, citius, prius; rather than, potius quam, citius quam, prius quam. I will die before I, etc., mori malo, quam, etc.
Already, jam, dudum, jam dudum.
Before-mentioned, quem (quam, quod) supra dixi - qui supra dictus est (not supra dictus, memoratus, nominatus).

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