πρίν
formed with a "comparative" force from πρό:
A. adv. of Time, "before",
I. of future time, "before that time, sooner", with fut. Ind. or Subj. = fut., Hom.: with Opt. and κεν, Od.
II. of past time, "aforetime, formerly, once, erst", Hom.; so with the Art., τὸ πρίν γε.., νῦν δὲ..; νῦν δὲ.. τὸ πρίν γε Il.:—with the Art. the Part. ὤν is omitted, τὰ πρὶν πελώρια (sc. ὄντα) the giants "of old", Aesch.; ἐν τῷ πρὶν χρόνῳ Soph.; ἐν τοῖς πρὶν λόγοις Thuc.
B. πρὶν ἤ, as Conjunction, "before that, before, ere, priusquam", Hom.; but ἤ is often omitted, so that πρίν becomes a Conjunction: the antecedent clause also has πρίν (or πρότερον, πρόσθεν, πάρος), so that πρίν the Conjunction is relat. to πρίν the adv., especially after a negat.:—it is constructed with Inf., ναῖε δὲ Πήδαιον, πρὶν ἐλθεῖν υἷας Ἀχαιῶν Il.; οὐδὲ παύσεται χόλου, πρὶν κατασκῆψαί τινα Eur.
II. with a finite Verb:
1. with Ind., in which case Hom. uses πρίν γ᾽ ὅτε, πρίν γ᾽ ὅτε δή, "until", μάχη τέτατο, πρίν γ᾽ ὅτε δὴ Ζεὺς κῦδος Ἕκτορι δῶκε Il.; so, οὐκ ἦν ἀλέξημ᾽ οὐδέν, πρίν γ᾽ ἐγὼ σφίσιν ἔδειξα Aesch.
2. with Subj. only after negatives or equiv. of neg., οὐ καταδυσόμεθ᾽, πρὶν μόρσιμον ἦμαρ ἐπέλθῃ we will not go down, "till" the day of death come on, Od.;—in attic πρὶν ἄν is regular, οὐδέν ἐστι τέρμα μοι μόχθων, πρὶν ἂν Ζεὺς ἐκπέσῃ τυραννίδος Aesch.; but ἄν is sometimes omitted, μὴ στέναζε, πρὶν μάθῃς Soph.; as always with πρὶν ἤ, πρὶν ἢ ἀνορθώσωσι Hdt.
3. with Opt., after historical tenses, οὐκ ἔθελεν φεύγειν πρὶν πειρήσαιτ᾽ Ἀχιλῆος Il.; ἔδοξέ μοι μὴ ποιεῖσθαι, πρὶν φράσαιμί σοι Soph.