prior

¹

[ prahy-er ]

adjective

1. preceding in time or in order; earlier or former; previous:

   A prior agreement prevents me from accepting this.

   Synonyms: antecedent, anterior

2. preceding in importance or privilege.

noun

1. Informal. a prior conviction.

prior

²

[ prahy-er ]

noun

1. an officer in a monastic order or religious house, sometimes next in rank below an abbot.
2. a chief magistrate, as in the medieval republic of Florence.

Prior

³

[ prahy-er ]

noun

1. Matthew, 1664–1721, English poet.

prior

¹

/ ˈpraɪə /

noun

1. the superior of a house and community in certain religious orders
2. the deputy head of a monastery or abbey, ranking immediately below the abbot
3. (formerly) a chief magistrate in medieval Florence and other Italian republics

prior

²

/ ˈpraɪə /

adjective

1. prenominal previous; preceding
2. prior to
   before; until

noun

1. statistics a prior probability

Prior

³

/ ˈpraɪə /

noun

1. PriorMatthew16641721MEnglishWRITING: poetPOLITICS: diplomat Matthew. 1664–1721, English poet and diplomat, noted for his epigrammatic occasional verse

Other Words From

• prior·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of prior¹

First recorded in 1705–15; from Latin: “former, elder, superior” (adjective), “before” (adverb); akin to pre-, prime

Origin of prior²

First recorded before 1100; Middle English, late Old English, from Medieval Latin, Late Latin: “one superior in rank”; noun use of prior prior ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of prior¹

C11: from Late Latin: head, from Latin (adj): previous, from Old Latin pri before

Origin of prior²

C18: from Latin: previous

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. prior to, preceding; before:

   Prior to that time, buffalo had roamed the Great Plains in tremendous numbers.

Example Sentences

Even though these types of binary systems should be very common, they have been tricky to find, with only two candidates confirmed within clusters prior to this research.

From Science Daily

Analysts attribute the shift to higher-than-expected tax revenues and prior actions to offset the deficit.

From Los Angeles Times

“It also gave us a chance to share the origins of the sculpture and its sculptress — Nina Saemundsson — prior to its descent into obscurity.”

From Los Angeles Times

Taking to social media, Mr Brown said the council had received "no prior notice" from the government.

From BBC

Time Magazine analysed another anonymous wallet that had bought Dink Doink prior to Logan Paul’s promotion of the coin and then sold its holding shortly after.

From BBC

Related Words

• above-mentioned
• preceding
• previous