before

(archaic or dialectal) Gone; gone by; gone away; passed; passed away. / (archaic or dialectal) Nearly gone; dead (used in Devonshire at the turn of the 19th century)

Before now.

Initialism of Attorney General's Office.

(archaic, dialectal) present participle of go

Obsolete spelling of ago

Existing in the relatively distant past.

At a time in the past, especially the distant past.

(informal, idiomatic) a (very) long time ago

(colloquial, fairy tales) Used to add emphasis to the fact that the story takes place in the distant past.