Aforesaid

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /əˈfɔɹsɛd/

Definitions

1. Mentioned or referred to previously in the same text or document
2. Previously mentioned or indicated in the same context or document
3. That which has been referenced earlier in the discussion or writing

Etymology: "Aforesaid" is a compound built from "afore," an older English word meaning "before" or "previously," and "said," the past participle of "say." Its ancestor in Middle English was "aforesaid" or "aforeseid," formed from "aforesayen," meaning "to say before" or to state something earlier in a text or speech. Put plainly, it is a reference back: a way of pointing to something already mentioned without repeating it. That legal and formal tone is why the word feels so at home in contracts and official notices, where repeating a name or clause in full would be tedious and where precision matters. Its literal sense is simply "said before," so a writer who says "the aforesaid tenant" is telling you that the tenant has already been named and identified.

Synonyms: aforementioned, previously mentioned