Definition of "heretofore"

heretofore

/ˌhɪətəˈfɔː/

adverb
not comparable
1. (formal, temporal) Before now, until now, up to the present time; from the beginning to this point.
  Quotations
  The Permanent Way: Britain's Railroads in the Making. By Horace Greenleaf and G. Tyers. […] There is no doubt that the permanent way has failed heretofore to attract popular interest to an extent comparable with its importance, but possibly the publicity given recently to various forms of experiment is tending to change this.
  1948 September and October, “Railway Literature”, in Railway Magazine, page 351
2. (metatextual) Previously within the present text; earlier herein.