ERE, adverb Before; sooner than. ERE sails were spread new oceans to explore. The nobleman saith to him, Sir, come down ere my child die. John 4:49. In these passages, ere is really a preposition, followed by a sentence, instead of a single word, as below. ERE, preposition Before. Our fruitful Nile Flow'd ere the wonted season.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI