Prior
Prior , adjective
[Latin prior former, previous, better, superior; compar. corresponding to primus first, and pro for. See Former, and compare Prime, a., and Pre-, Pro-.]
1.
Preceding in the order of time; former; antecedent; anterior; previous; as, a prior discovery; prior obligation; -- used elliptically in cases like the following: he lived alone [in the time] prior to his marriage.
2.
First, precedent, or superior in the order of cognition, reason or generality, origin, development, rank, etc.
Prior , noun
[Old English priour, Old French priour, prior, priur, French prieur, from Latin prior former, superior. See Prior, a.]
1.
(Ecclesiastical) The superior of a priory, and next below an abbot in dignity.
2.
a chief magistrate, as in the republic of Florence in the middle ages. — [RHUD]
Collocations (2)
Conventical prior or Conventual prior , a prior who is at the head of his own house. See the Note under Priory.
Claustral prior , an official next in rank to the abbot in a monastery; prior of the cloisters.
Prior , noun
a prior conviction; -- said of an accused criminal. [informal]