prius

¹ American  

[prahy-uhs] / ˈpraɪ əs /

adjective

1. (in prescriptions) before; former.

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Prius ² American  

[pree-uhs] / ˈpri əs /

noun

Trademark.

plural

Prius, Prii

1. a brand of hybrid car, one of the first commercially successful, that runs at lower speeds on an electric motor powered by a battery pack, and at higher speeds on a gasoline engine, which can also recharge the battery.

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Etymology

Origin of prius¹

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1890–95

Origin of Prius²

1997; from the Latin prius meaning “coming before”; also related to such English words as “prior” and “primary”

Example Sentences

Qu� si mente prius legisti candidus �qua: Da reliquis quoque nunc tempora pauca libris.

From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Agricola, Georgius

He was great at nisi prius and before an appellate tribunal.

From Abraham Lincoln, Volume 2 (of 2) The True Story of a Great Life by Herndon, William H.

Now my conviction is that my intelligence is the necessary digestive apparatus for my life; that there is nihil in vita—worth anything, that is—quod non prius in intellectu.

From Notes of a Son and Brother by James, Henry

Chorus prosequitur cantum usque ad Benedictus qui venit exclusive: quo finito et non prius elevatur sacramentum.

From The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, Volume 1, March 1865 by Various

Huc prius angustis ejecta cadavera cellis Conservus vili portanda locabat in arc�.

From Walks in Rome by Hare, Augustus J. C.