What does "ere" mean in Shakespeare?

Question

It's from the Scarlet Letter, but the language is the same: "Yet if death be in this cup, I bid thee think agian, ere though beholdest me quaff it."
That's the quote, but I just want to know what the word itself means.

Answer 1

before, earlier than

Your citation is inaccurate however. It should read:

Yet, if death be in this cup, I bid thee think again, ere thou beholdest me quaff it. See! It is even now at my lips.



think again before you see me drinking it



And it is not from Shakespeare but a novel by Hawhorne:

The Scarlet Letter

A Romance

By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1850

Answer 2

In Shakespeare as in a great many poems "ere" is an archaic term meaning before. One of the most common appearances of this word is in a palindrome concerning the exile of Napoleon: Able was I ere I saw Elba.

Answer 3

Hi Megan,



"Ere", especially when used around Shakespeare's time, meant "before".



Keep well, and keep reading. Shakespeare is my favorite of all writers.

Answer 4

Define Ere

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.



RE:

What does "ere" mean in Shakespeare?

It's from the Scarlet Letter, but the language is the same: "Yet if death be in this cup, I bid thee think agian, ere though beholdest me quaff it."

That's the quote, but I just want to know what the word itself means.

Answer 6

This Site Might Help You.



RE:

What does "ere" mean in Shakespeare?

It's from the Scarlet Letter, but the language is the same: "Yet if death be in this cup, I bid thee think agian, ere though beholdest me quaff it."

That's the quote, but I just want to know what the word itself means.

Answer 7

Before/previously

Answer 8

before

Answer 9

'ere' is old english for before.

Answer 10

i think it's supposed to be even - like "even though"

Answer 11

as Bertux said - Hawthorne, etc.



ere, pronounced ār - before (O.E. ǽr, Du. eer)

Answer 12

"Here" or "Now".