Beforehand

[David Myer]

I must be getting old and slow. I can't work out what the hand has got to do with this one. Does it add much in meaning to the word 'before'?

[Slava]

Upon looking into this, I discover that there is also the opposite: behindhand. From the early 16th century, it generally applies to insolvency, giving credence to the idea of beforehand originally meaning something along the lines of handing over the money before getting something.