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prior

1
[prahy-er]
||

adjective

preceding in time or in order; earlier or former; previous: A prior agreement prevents me from accepting this.
preceding in importance or privilege.

noun

Informal. a prior conviction.

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Nearby words

  1. printout paper,
  2. printwheel,
  3. printworks,
  4. prinzmetal's angina,
  5. prion,
  6. prior lien,
  7. prior probability,
  8. prior restraint,
  9. prior, matthew,
  10. priorate

Idioms

    prior to, preceding; before: Prior to that time, buffalo had roamed the Great Plains in tremendous numbers.

Origin of prior

1
1705–15; < Latin: former, elder, superior (adj.), before (adv.); akin to prime, pre-
SYNONYMS FOR prior
1. anterior, antecedent.
Related formspri·or·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for priorly

prior

1

adjective

(prenominal) previous; preceding
prior to before; until

noun

statistics a prior probability

Word Origin for prior

C18: from Latin: previous

prior

2

noun

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

Word Origin for prior

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

Prior

noun

Matthew. 1664–1721, English poet and diplomat, noted for his epigrammatic occasional verse
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for priorly
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper