prior1
[prahy-er]
- preceding in time or in order; earlier or former; previous: A prior agreement prevents me from accepting this.
- preceding in importance or privilege.
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- Informal. a prior conviction.
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- prior to, preceding; before: Prior to that time, buffalo had roamed the Great Plains in tremendous numbers.
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Origin of prior1
Synonyms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
prior1
- (prenominal) previous; preceding
- prior to before; until
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- statistics a prior probability
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Word Origin
C18: from Latin: previous
prior2
- 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
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Word Origin
C11: from Late Latin: head, from Latin (adj): previous, from Old Latin pri before
Prior
- Matthew. 1664–1721, English poet and diplomat, noted for his epigrammatic occasional verse
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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
prior
adj.
"earlier," 1714, from Latin prior "former, previous, first;" figuratively "superior, better;" as a noun "forefather; superior rank;" comparative of Old Latin pri "before," from PIE *prai-, *prei-, from root *per- (1) "forward, through" (see per).
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prior
n.
"superior officer of a religious house or order," late Old English, from Medieval Latin prior "superior officer," noun use of Latin adjective meaning "former, superior" (see prior (adj.)). As short for prior arrest, by 1990, American English.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper