2. Hence: To confuse; to mystify.
BEFOOL
Be*fool", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Befooled; p. pr. & vb. n. Befooling.]
Etym: [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.
BEFORE Be*fore", prep. Etym: [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.
Note: Formerly before, in this sense, was followed by that. "Before that Philip called thee . . . I saw thee." John i. 48.
3. An advance of; farther onward, in place or time. The golden age . . . is before us. Carlyle.
4. Prior or preceding in dignity, order, rank, right, or worth;
rather than.
He that cometh after me is preferred before me. John i. 15.
The eldest son is before the younger in succession. Johnson.