prius
[ prahy-uh s ]
/ ˈpraɪ əs /
|
adjective
(in prescriptions) before; former.
Nearby words
pristine, pritchett, prithee, prithivi, prittle-prattle, prius, priv., priv. pr., privacy, privacy, right of, privatdocent
Origin of prius
Borrowed into English from Latin around 1890–95
Definition for prius (2 of 2)
Prius
[ pree-uh s ]
/ ˈpri əs /
noun, plural Prius, Prii [pree-ahy] /ˈpri aɪ/. Trademark.
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.
Origin of Prius
1997; from the Latin prius meaning “coming before”; also related to such English words as “prior” and “primary”
Related Quotations
- "In hybrids such as the Toyota Prius, computer software decides when to run the [gasoline] engine, when to run the electric motor and when to recharge the battery. … A full hybrid, such as the Toyota Prius, can provide a fuel economy improvement of 60 percent or more."-Joseph J. Romm and Andrew A. Fran Hybrid Vehicles Gain Traction Scientific American (April 2006)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019