Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
e’er, e’re, ere (adv.), ere (prep., subord. conj.)
Both these words are pronounced like the word air. E’er, e’re, and ere are archaic and poetic forms of the adverb ever, as in Where e’er [e’re, ere] she is, there would I be also; the apostrophe indicates the omission of the v. (This word is a versifier’s delight: choose the two-syllabled ever or the more literary one-syllabled e’re/ere/e’er, as your meter requires.) Ere is an archaic or at least old-fashioned and poetic preposition and subordinating conjunction meaning “before,” as in the palindrome Able was I ere I saw Elba.
