Before, quaintly (3)
I believe the answer is:
ere
'before quaintly' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for ere that I've seen before include "Before (in poetry)" , "Before, poetically" , "Old word for before" , "Before (literary)" , "Archaic word for before - a palindrome" .)