before; formerly; previous; ago
以 (yǐ) · 4 strokes
Depicts a person (人) carrying something.
前 (qián) · 9 strokes
Phonosemantic compound. 歬 represents the sound, and 刂 represents the meaning. Based on the original meaning "cut", now written as 剪. The current meaning "in front" is a phonetic loan.