Prior /(?)/

Pri·or

Prior

a.
  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

n.
  1. The superior of a priory, and next below an abbot in dignity. (Eccl.)
  2. a chief magistrate, as in the republic of Florence in the middle ages.

Phrases & Compounds
Conventical 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

n.
  1. a prior conviction; -- said of an accused criminal. [informal]