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Afore vs Above - What's the difference?

afore | above |

As adverbs the difference between afore and above

is that afore is before while above is directly overhead; vertically on top of.

As prepositions the difference between afore and above

is that afore is before while above is physically over; on top of; worn on top of, as clothing.

As a conjunction afore

is in advance of the time when; before.

As an adjective above is

of heaven; heavenly.

As a noun above is

heaven.

afore

English

Alternative forms

* affor

Adverb

(-)
  • (dialect) Before.
  • * Shakespeare
  • If he have never drunk wine afore , it will go near to remove his fit.
  • *
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage=A chap named Eleazir Kendrick and I had chummed in together the summer afore and built a fish-weir and shanty at Setuckit Point, down Orham way. For a spell we done pretty well.}}
  • (nautical) In the fore part of a ship.
  • Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • before
  • * 1989: , Bell in the tree; The Glasgow story
  • "Oh aye!" his face lit up with a smile. "I mind that! Where was that?" "That was us when we all worked in the shop, afore the War." "Oh aye …?" he frowned. "Who …?" She took the photograph back from him and reached inside her apron pocket for her spectacles.

    Conjunction

    (English Conjunctions)
  • in advance of the time when; before
  • * 1611 King James Bible (Authorised Version); Ezekiel 33:22
  • *:Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth ...
  • above

    English

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • Physically over; on top of; worn on top of, as clothing.
  • In or to a higher place; higher than; on or over the upper surface; — opposed to below'' or ''beneath .
  • * (rfdate) Translation of (Genesis) 2:20,
  • Fowl that may fly above the earth.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps,
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author=[http://www.americanscientist.org/authors/detail/william-e-conner-1 William E. Conner]
  • , title=[http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/2013/3/an-acoustic-arms-race An Acoustic Arms Race] , volume=101, issue=3, page=206-7, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them.}}
  • Farther north than.
  • Rising; appearing out of reach height-wise.
  • Figuratively, higher than; superior to in any respect; surpassing; higher in measure, degree, volume, or pitch, etc. than; out of reach; not exposed to; not likely to be affected by; incapable of negative actions or thoughts.
  • * (rfdate) (Marlowe),
  • Thy worth […] is actions above my gifts.
  • * (rfdate) translation of 36:13,
  • I saw in the way a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun.
  • Higher in rank, status, or position.
  • In addition to; besides.
  • Surpassing in number or quantity; more than; as, above a hundred.
  • In preference to.
  • Too proud to stoop; averse to; disinclined; too honorable to give.
  • (theater) Upstage.
  • Beyond; on the other side.
  • Usage notes

    * (surpassing in number or quantity) Passing into the adverbial sense.

    Derived terms

    * above all * above average * above one's bend * above the law * above the salt * over and above

    Adverb

    (-)
  • Directly overhead; vertically on top of.
  • * {{quote-magazine, title=The climate of Tibet: Pole-land
  • , date=2013-05-11, volume=407, issue=8835, page=80 , magazine=(The Economist) , url=http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21577341-worlds-third-largest-area-ice-about-undergo-systematic , passage=Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest. It is binary. And for the land beneath, the air above and the life around, it changes everything.}}
  • Higher in the same page; earlier in the order as far as writing products go.
  • * (rfdate)
  • That was said above .
  • Into or from heaven; in the sky.
  • He's in a better place now, floating free as the clouds ''above .
  • In a higher place; upstairs; farther upstream.
  • Higher in rank, power, or position.
  • He appealed to the court above .
  • (archaic) In addition.
  • More in number.
  • Above zero; above freezing.
  • It was a cold day at only 5 above .
  • (biology) On the upper half or the dorsal surface of an animal.
  • The sparrow I saw was rufous above and off-white below.

    Derived terms

    * "Above" is also used as the first part of a compound in the sense of before'', ''previously''; as, ''above''-cited, ''above''-described, ''above''-mentioned, ''above''-named, ''above''-said, ''above''-specified, ''above''-written, ''above -given.

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Of heaven; heavenly.
  • Being located higher on the same page or on a preceding page.
  • Usage notes

    * Above is often used elliptically as an adjective by omitting the word said'', ''mentioned'', ''quoted , or the like: ** the above (-said) observations ** the above (-cited) reference ** the above (-quoted) articles

    Noun

    (-)
  • Heaven.
  • Something, especially a person's name in legal documents, that appears higher on the same page or on a preceding page.
  • Higher authority.
  • Usage notes

  • Above is often used further elliptically as a noun by omitting the noun, where it is should be clear what is omitted.
  • See the above .

    References

    * Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "The vertical axis", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition , Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8 * *