Beforehand

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Dr. Goodword
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Beforehand

Postby Dr. Goodword » Wed May 17, 2023 7:15 pm

• beforehand •


Pronunciation: bi-for-hænd • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adverb

Meaning: In advance, up front, ahead of time, prior, before an anticipated event or action.

Notes: Here is a compound that has lost its etymological moorings. It means essentially "before", so, why the hand? It historically has two antonyms, afterhand and behindhand, both meaning "in arrears", suggesting a historical association with payment.

In Play: Today this adverb has no limitations on its use: "Hildreth knew beforehand that Merle planned to put a frog in the watercooler but didn't tell anybody." No matter how serious the expression: "When Rhoda Book begins a new novel, she says it's like jumping into deep waters not knowing beforehand whether she will be able to swim."

Word History: Today's Good Word is obviously a compound comprising before + hand. It is probably a loan translation of Anglo-Norman avantmain "before + hand", no doubt influenced by some English phrase like 'before handing (it over)', associated with the French word's referring most often to monetary transactions. Before, like its synonym afore, was based on the English rendition of PIE per-/por- "forward, in front of, before", which also emerged in English as for, in Latin as pro "before, for", Russian as pro "about" and pra- "grand-", as in praded "grandfather", Greek paros "before, formerly", German vor "before". The origin of hand remains a mystery. It is limited to Germanic languages: Dutch and Swedish hand, German Hand, Danish and Norwegian hånd, Romance languages use descendants of Latin manus and Slavic, the descendants of Old Church Slavic ruka.(A word of gratitude is owed David Myer for his activity in the Agora, where he has brought up many intriguing Good Words like today's since 2011.)
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George Kovac
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Re: Beforehand

Postby George Kovac » Thu May 18, 2023 12:52 pm

The redundancy of “beforehand” is a curiosity, but it is not unique.

We also say “right hand” and “left hand,” as in “ Make a right hand turn immediately after the bridge.” That usage is almost always oral, though I do know of a sign at the exit of a local parking garage that states “No left hand turn.” This usage of “hand”serves no purpose, but it survives as a shared verbal tic. On the other hand, the phrase “right hand” does have some independent utility, as in describing an advisor or chief of staff as the boss’s “right hand man.”

While “beforehand” is always redundant to “before”, the word can have valid use in adding nuance or grace to a statement. For example, if someone exercised poor judgment, their boss (or spouse or parent) might upbraid them with “You should have thought of that before you did that” or “You should have thought of that before.” But doesn’t this sound more effective: “You should have thought of that beforehand”?
"Every battle of ideas is fought on the terrain of language." Zia Haider Rahman, New York Times 4/8/2016

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Dr. Goodword
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Re: Beforehand

Postby Dr. Goodword » Thu May 18, 2023 7:56 pm

Some languages have an emphatic suffix. The English morphology is so impoverished it has no such, so it must express the same category by a variety of means. Beforehand could be the emphatic form of before.
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Audiendus
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Re: Beforehand

Postby Audiendus » Thu May 18, 2023 10:33 pm

Another common redundancy is tree, e.g. oak tree, fir tree. (German likewise can suffix baum to the type of tree.)

Also -time, e.g. in (the) springtime.


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