The Collaborative International Dictionary
Paravant \Par"a*vant`\, Paravant \Par"a*vant`\, adv. [OF. par avant. See Par, and 1st Avaunt.]
In front; publicly. [Obs.]
--Spenser.Beforehand; first. [Obs.]
--Spenser.
Wiktionary
adv. (context obsolete rare English) pre-eminently; first. (16th-17th c.)
Usage examples of "paravant".
She had, in her embarrassment, mistaken her own door, and burst suddenly into the room of Herr Paravant, a Dortmund lawyer.
Lawyer Paravant, a sunburnt man who looked to have had the strength of a bull, even flicked his ear with his forefinger to make it hear better, then turned it again to catch the words that flowed from Dr.
Lawyer Paravant rattled his ear anew, that the critical moment might find it open and receptive.
A sigh passed through the assemblage, and Lawyer Paravant weightily nodded approbation as Krokowski proceeded to develop his theme.
Lawyer Paravant was free either to quarrel or to compound with the Swede over the favours of the Frau Consul-General, as seemed to him advisable.
Lawyer Paravant saw it was incumbent upon him to represent the sense of the meeting.
The remainder, the surrounding curvature, which in some ethereous, immaterial way refused to be rationalized by means of the calculable bounding lines, that, Lawyer Paravant said, with quivering jaw, was pi.
Lawyer Paravant had received out of transcendency a sounding slap on the cheek, and had countered with scientific alacrity, yes, had even eagerly turned the other cheek, heedless of his quality as gentleman, jurist, and one-time member of a duelling corps, all of which would have constrained him to quite a different line of conduct had the blow been of terrestrial origin.