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The act of preoccupying, or taking possession of beforehand; the state of being preoccupied; prepossession.

To take possession of before another; as, to preoccupy a country not before held.

To ominate beforehand; to portend. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

To ordain or appoint beforehand: to predetermine: to foreordain. Milton.

To order to arrange beforehand; to foreordain. Sir W. Hamilton.

The act of preparing or fitting beforehand for a particular purpose, use, service, or condition; previous arrangement or adaptation; a making ready; as, the preparation of land for a crop of wheat; the preparation of troops for a campaign.

One who prepares beforehand, as subjects for dissection, specimens for preservation in collections, etc. Agassiz.

To pay in advance, or beforehand; as, to prepay postage.

To weigh or consider beforehand; to premeditate. [Obs.] Spenser. Sir T. Elyot.

To place or set before; to prefix. [Obs.] Fuller.

tive case) to make a phrase limiting some other word; -- so called because usually placed before the word with which it is phrased; as, a bridge of iron; he comes from town; it is good for food; he escaped by running.

Put before; prefixed; as, a prepositive particle. -- n.

e a previous inclination to, for or against anything; esp., to induce a favorable opinion beforehand, or at the outset. It created him enemies, and prepossessed the lord general. Evelyn.

To provide beforehand. "The materials preprovided." Fuller.

ne or practice of a school of modern painters who profess to be followers of the painters before Raphael. Its adherents advocate careful study from nature, delicacy and minuteness of workmanship, and an exalted and delicate conception of the subject.

One who favors or practices art as it was before Raphael; one who favors or advocates preraphaelitism.

One who reigns before another; a sovereign predecessor. [R.] Warner.

To require beforehand. Some things are prerequired of us. Bp. Hall.

To resolve beforehand; to predetermine. Sir E. Dering.

To have a presentiment of; to feel beforehand; to foreknow.