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a priori vs. a posteriori

a priori

[ ey prahy-awr-ahy, -ohr-ahy, ey pree-awr-ee, -ohr-ee, ah pree-awr-ee, -ohr-ee ]
adjective
  1. from a general law to a particular instance; valid independently of observation.
  2. existing in the mind prior to and independent of experience, as a faculty or character trait.
  3. not based on prior study or examination; nonanalytic: an a priori judgment.

a posteriori

[ ey po-steer-ee-awr-ahy, -ohr-ahy, -awr-ee, -ohr-ee ]
adjective
  1. from particular instances to a general principle or law; based upon actual observation or upon experimental data: an a posteriori argument that derives the theory from the evidence.
  2. not existing in the mind prior to or independent of experience.