Ere is an old-fashioned word meaning “before.” You might encounter it in classic poems, Shakespeare's plays, or older stories where characters speak in formal, archaic language. For instance, a knight might declare, “I shall return ere sunset,” meaning he'll be back before the sun goes down.

The word works in two ways: it can mean “before” in terms of time (ere the storm arrives) or “rather than” when comparing choices (ere I would surrender). You might also see it in the phrase ere long, which means “before much time passes” or “soon.”

Today, we use “before” in everyday speech. Nobody walks into class saying, “I finished my homework ere breakfast.” But ere still appears regularly in poetry, historical fiction, and fantasy stories where writers want to create a sense of ancient times or formal speech. When you're reading The Lord of the Rings or a collection of classic poetry and spot ere, just mentally swap in “before,” and the meaning becomes clear. It's one of those words that's more useful to recognize when reading than to use when speaking.