prior

pri·or

Use prior in a sentence

adjective

Prior means having happened in the past.
An example of prior is a criminal conviction that happened ten years ago.

noun

The definition of a prior is the head of a home where monks live.
An example of a prior is the person in charge of a religious house such as a priory.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"prior." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Prior>.

APA Style

prior. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Prior

prior

preceding in time; earlier; previous; former
preceding in order or importance; preferred: a prior choice

Origin of prior

L, former, superior, comparative of Old Latin pri, before: see prime

the head of a priory or other religious house
in an abbey, the person in charge next below the abbot

Origin of prior

ME < OE & OFr, both < ML(Ec), a prior < L: see priorthe adjective

prior Idioms

prior to

before in time

Prior

1664-1721; Eng. poet

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"prior." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Prior>.

APA Style

prior. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Prior

prior

adjective

Preceding in time or order: “[They] insist that foreign vessels seeking access obtain prior approval” ( Seymour M. Hersh )
Preceding in importance or value: a prior consideration.

adverb

Usage Problem Before.

noun

A previous conviction or arrest: The suspect has two priors.

Origin of prior

Latin; see prior².

Related Forms:

pri′or·ly
adverb

Usage Note: Though prior usually modifies a noun that comes after it, as in prior approval, it sometimes modifies a noun for a unit of time which precedes it, as in five years prior. These constructions are marginally acceptable when the combination serves as the object of a preposition, as in A gallon of gasoline was $4.29, up 10 cents from the week prior. In our 2014 survey, 51 percent of the Panelists accepted the sentence, with many commenting that they would prefer from the prior week or from the week before. The construction is even less acceptable when it acts as an adverbial modifier: only 29 percent of the Panel approved My cell phone was stolen. I had just bought it two days prior.

noun

A monastic officer in charge of a priory or ranking next below the abbot of an abbey.
One of the ruling magistrates of the medieval Italian republic of Florence.

Origin of prior

Middle English priour from Old EnglishOld French prior both from Medieval Latin from Latin superior ; see per¹ in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

pri′or·ate pri′or·ship′
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"prior." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Prior>.

APA Style

prior. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Prior

Adjective

(not comparable)

Of that which comes before, in advance.
I had no prior knowledge you were coming.
former, previous
His prior residence was smaller than his current one.

Adverb

(comparative more prior, superlative most pri)

(colloquial) Previously.
The doctor had known three months prior.

Noun

(plural priors)

A high-ranking member of a monastery, usually lower in rank than an abbot.
(US slang) A previous arrest or criminal conviction on someone's record. [from 19th c.]
(statistics) In Bayesian inference, a prior probability distribution. [from 20th c.]

Origin

From Latin prior

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.