Fore , prep. Before; -- sometimes written 'fore as if a contraction of afore or before. [Obs.]
Fore , n. The front; hence, that which is in front; the future.
At the fore (Naut.), at the fore royal masthead; -- said of a flag, so raised as a signal for sailing, etc. -- To the fore. (a) In advance; to the front; to
a prominent position; in plain sight; in readiness for use. (b) In existence; alive; not worn out,
lost, or spent, as money, etc. [Irish]
"While I am to the fore." W. Collins. "How many captains in the regiment had two thousand pounds to the fore?" Thackeray.
Fore (?), a. [See Fore,
adv.]
Advanced, as compared with something else; toward the front; being or coming first, in time, place, order, or importance; preceding;
anterior; antecedent;
earlier; forward; -- opposed to back or behind; as, the fore part of a garment;
the fore part of the day; the fore and of
a wagon.
The free will of the subject is preserved, while it is
directed by the fore purpose of the state.
Southey. &fist; Fore is much used adjectively or in composition.
Fore bay, a reservoir or canal between a mill race and
a water wheel; the discharging end of a pond or mill
race. -- Fore body (Shipbuilding), the
part of a ship forward of the largest cross-section, distinguished from middle body and after body. -- Fore boot, a receptacle in the front of
a vehicle, for stowing baggage, etc. -- Fore
bow, the pommel of a saddle. Knight. --
Fore cabin, a cabin in the fore part
of a ship,
usually with inferior
accommodations. -- Fore carriage. (a)
The forward part of the running gear of a four-wheeled vehicle.
(b) A small carriage at the front
end of a plow beam. -- Fore course (Naut.),
the lowermost sail on the foremost of a
square-rigged vessel; the foresail. See Illust. under Sail. -- Fore door. Same as Front door. -- Fore edge, the front edge of
a book or
folded sheet, etc. -- Fore elder, an ancestor. [Prov. Eng.]
-- Fore end. (a) The end which precedes; the earlier, or the nearer, part; the beginning.
I have . . . paid
More pious debts to heaven, than in all
The
fore end of my time.
Shak. (b) In firearms, the wooden stock under the barrel, forward of the trigger guard, or breech frame. -- Fore girth, a girth for the fore part
(of a horse,
etc.); a martingale. --
Fore hammer, a sledge hammer, working alternately, or in time, with
the hand hammer. -- Fore leg, one of the front
legs of a quadruped, or multiped, or of a chair, settee, etc. -- Fore peak (Naut.), the angle within a ship's bows; the portion of the hold which is farthest forward. --
Fore piece, a front piece, as the
flap in the
fore part of a sidesaddle, to guard the rider's dress. -- Fore plane, a carpenter's plane, in size and use
between a jack plane and a smoothing plane. Knight. -- Fore reading, previous
perusal. [Obs.] Hales. -- Fore rent, in Scotland, rent payable before a crop is
gathered. -- Fore sheets (Naut.),
the forward portion of a
rowboat; the space beyond the front thwart. See Stern sheets. -- Fore
shore. (a)
A bank in
advance of a sea wall, to break the
force of the surf. (b) The seaward projecting, slightly inclined portion of a
breakwater. Knight. (c)
The part of the shore
between high and low water
marks. -- Fore sight, that one of the two sights of a gun which is
near the muzzle. -- Fore tackle (Naut.), the tackle on
the foremast of a ship.
-- Fore topmast.
(Naut.) See Fore-topmast, in the Vocabulary. - - Fore
wind, a favorable wind.
[Obs.]
Sailed on smooth seas, by fore winds borne.
Sandys. -- Fore world, the antediluvian world. [R.] Southey.
Fore , adv. [AS. fore, adv. & prep., another
form of for. See For, and cf. Former, Foremost.]
1. In the part that precedes or goes first; -- opposed to aft, after, back, behind,
etc.
2. Formerly; previously; afore. [Obs. or Colloq.]
The eyes, fore duteous, now converted are.
Shak. 3. (Naut.) In or towards
the bows of a
ship.
Fore and aft (Naut.), from stem to
stern; lengthwise of the vessel; -- in distinction from athwart. R. H. Dana, Jr. -- Fore-and-aft
rigged (Naut.), not rigged with square sails attached to yards, but with sails bent to gaffs or set
on stays in the midship line of the vessel. See Schooner, Sloop,
Cutter.
Fore , n. [AS. f&?;r,
fr. faran to go. See Fare, v. i.]
Journey; way; method of proceeding. [Obs.] "Follow him and his fore." Chaucer.
Hear it pronounced