English

toforetime

From tofore + time.

A compound of tofore + time

Old English tōforan ‘in front of’

Middle English tofore ‘in front, ahead’

Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- ‘to divide’

…

Proto-Germanic *tīmô ‘division, period; time’

Proto-West Germanic *tīmō

Old English tīma ‘time, period’

Middle English tyme

English time

Today it means

adv Previously, beforehand.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / toforetime