ainçois

Middle French

Alternative forms

• aincois (some manuscripts do not use the character ç)
• ainçoiz

Etymology

Old French ainçois.

Adverb

ainçois

1. before (at a previous time)

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (ainçois)

Old French

Alternative forms

• aincois (manuscript form)

Etymology

Either from Vulgar Latin *ante ipsum (literally "before the very same") or simply an emphatic form of Old French ainz, derived from *antius, from ante +‎ -ius. According to Antion Thomas in Romania (number 14, 1885), the latter explanation is more likely, as ainz and ainçois have essentially the same function and sense in Old French.

Adverb

ainçois

1. before (at a previous time)

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (ainçois)