prae

Prae takes the ABLATIVE, and it is the rarest of the "before" prepositions in prose, since ante and pro do most of that work. Three uses earn it its place.

Spatially it is in front of, chiefly in the idiom prae se ferre, to carry something before oneself, meaning to display it openly. Comparatively it is beside or in comparison with: prae ceteris, above the others. Causally, and almost always with a negative, it gives the obstacle that prevents an action: prae lacrimis loqui non potuit, "he could not speak for tears", where English keeps the same slightly odd "for". As a prefix it is everywhere, in praesum, praedico, praeter and praemium.