Be*fool" (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Befooled (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Befooling.] [OE. befolen; pref. be- + fol fool.] 1. To fool; to delude or lead into error; to infatuate; to deceive.
This story . . . contrived to befool credulous men.
Fuller.
2. To cause to behave like a fool; to make foolish. "Some befooling drug." G. Eliot.
Be*fore" (&?;), prep. [OE. beforen, biforen, before, AS. beforan; pref. be- + foran, fore, before. See Be-, and Fore.] 1. In front of; preceding in space; ahead of; as, to stand before the fire; before the house.
His angel, who shall go
Before them in a cloud and pillar of fire.
Milton.
2. Preceding in time; earlier than; previously to; anterior to the time when; -- sometimes with the additional idea of purpose; in order that.
Before Abraham was, I am.
John viii. 58.
Before this treatise can become of use, two points are necessary.
Swift.
Formerly before, in this sense, was followed by that. "Before that Philip called thee . . . I saw thee." John i. 48.