From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
before
adv 1: earlier in time; previously; "I had known her before";
"as I said before"; "he called me the day before but your
call had come even earlier"; "her parents had died four
years earlier"; "I mentioned that problem earlier" [syn:
earlier, before]
2: at or in the front; "I see the lights of a town ahead"; "the
road ahead is foggy"; "staring straight ahead"; "we couldn't
see over the heads of the people in front"; "with the cross
of Jesus marching on before" [syn: ahead, in front,
before]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Before \Be*fore"\, prep. [OE. beforen, biforen, before, AS.
beforan; pref. be- + foran, fore, before. See Be-, and
Fore.]
1. In front of; preceding in space; ahead of; as, to stand
before the fire; before the house.
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His angel, who shall go
Before them in a cloud and pillar of fire. --Milton.
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2. Preceding in time; earlier than; previously to; anterior
to the time when; -- sometimes with the additional idea of
purpose; in order that.
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Before Abraham was, I am. --John viii.
58.
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Before this treatise can become of use, two points
are necessary. --Swift.
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Note: Formerly before, in this sense, was followed by that.
"Before that Philip called thee . . . I saw thee."
--John i. 48.
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3. An advance of; farther onward, in place or time.
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The golden age . . . is before us. --Carlyle.
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4. Prior or preceding in dignity, order, rank, right, or
worth; rather than.
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He that cometh after me is preferred before me.
--John i. 15.
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The eldest son is before the younger in succession.
--Johnson.
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5. In presence or sight of; face to face with; facing.
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Abraham bowed down himself before the people. --Gen.
xxiii. 12.
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Wherewith shall I come before the Lord? --Micah vi.
6.
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6. Under the cognizance or jurisdiction of.
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If a suit be begun before an archdeacon. --Ayliffe.
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7. Open for; free of access to; in the power of.
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The world was all before them where to choose.
--Milton.
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Before the mast (Naut.), as a common sailor, -- because the
sailors live in the forecastle, forward of the foremast.
Before the wind (Naut.), in the direction of the wind and
by its impulse; having the wind aft.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Before \Be*fore"\, adv.
1. On the fore part; in front, or in the direction of the
front; -- opposed to in the rear.
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The battle was before and behind. --2 Chron.
xiii. 14.
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2. In advance. "I come before to tell you." --Shak.
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3. In time past; previously; already.
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You tell me, mother, what I knew before. --Dryden.
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4. Earlier; sooner than; until then.
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When the butt is out, we will drink water; not a
drop before. --Shak.
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Note: Before is often used in self-explaining compounds; as,
before-cited, before-mentioned; beforesaid.
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