Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PRE-EN-GAGE', v.t. [pre and engage.]

1. To engage by a previous contract. To Cipsens by his friends his suit he moved, / But he was pre-engag'd by former ties. – Dryden.
2. To engage or attach by previous influence. The world has the unhappy advantage of pre-engaging our passions. – Rogers.
3. To engage beforehand.