antĕā, temp. adv. (old form * antidĕā or anteidĕā, MS., Liv. 22, 10, 6; v. Neue, Formenl. II. p. 680) [ante-eā like antehāc, posteā, posthāc, proptereā, quāpropter, etc., in which Corssen, Ausspr. I. p. 769, regards the pron. as an old acc. with the a final long; Key, Gr. § 802, regards these suffixes as corrupted from the acc. of pronouns in -am; cf. quam], of some (past or pres.) time, before, formerly, earlier, aforetime, in time past, etc. (relative; while antehac demonstr. is used only in ref. to present time. The use of antea for prius is censured by Atticus in Cic. Att. 15, 13).
I Absol. : nam antea Quī scire posses aut ingenium noscere? Ter. And. 52: antea, cum equester ordo judicaret, improbi et rapaces magistratus in provinciis inserviebant publicanis, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 41: ac fuit antea tempus, cum, etc., Caes. B. G. 6, 24: cum antea semper factiosus fuisset, Nep. Lys. 1, 3: et antea laudatus et hoc tempore laudandus, Cic. Phil. 10, 6, 13; so id. Fam. 12, 30; 13, 17 al.: hunc audiebant antea, nunc praesentem vident, etc., id. Imp. Pomp. 5; so id. Verr. 2, 3, 57; id. Fam. 9, 16; Liv. 5, 17; 13, 41 al.: si antea fuit ignotum, nuper est cognitum, Cic. Off. 2, 7, 23: quales antea fuerant, Vulg. Ex. 34, 4; ib. Jer. 36, 32; ib. Luc. 23, 12 et saep.—
II Freq. opp. to postea, post, posthac, tum, tunc, etc.: et clari fuerunt, et antea fuerant, nec postea defecerunt, Cic. Or. 2, 6; so id. Fam. 1, 9, 74; Suet. Dom. 2: hanc consuetudinem jam antea minuebamus, post Sullae victoriam penitus amisimus, Cic. Off. 2, 8, 27; so id. Att. 1, 11: non accusabimur posthac: neque antea neglegentes fuimus, id. ib. 7, 3: semper ille antea cum uxore, tum sine eā, id. Mil. 21; so Liv. 23, 19; so, antea ... tunc, id. 29, 9.—
III Rarely for ante followed by deinde, mox, etc.: clipeis antea Romani usi sunt, deinde scuta pro clipeis fecere, formerly , at an earlier period ... then , in process of time , etc., Liv. 8, 8: Poneropolis antea, mox Philippopolis, nunc Trimontium dicta, Plin. 4, 11, 18, § 41.—
IV Rarely also for ante, followed by quam: te antea, quam tibi successum esset, decessurum fuisse, Cic. Fam. 3, 6, 2 B. and K.: Achaei non antea ausi capessere bellum, quam ab Romā revertissent legati, Liv. 35, 25, 3 Weissenb.