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Definition of Prior
1. Noun. The head of a religious order; in an abbey the prior is next below the abbot.
2. Adjective. Earlier in time.
Definition of Prior
1. a. 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. n. The superior of a priory, and next below an abbot in dignity.
3. a. First, precedent, or superior in the order of cognition, reason or generality, origin, development, rank, etc.
Definition of Prior
1. Adjective. Of that which comes before, in advance. ¹
2. Adjective. former, previous ¹
3. Adverb. (colloquial) Previously. ¹
4. Noun. A high-ranking member of a monastery, usually lower in rank than an abbot. ¹
5. Noun. (legal) A previous criminal offense on someone's record. ¹
6. Noun. (statistics) In Bayesian inference, a prior probability distribution. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Prior
1. an officer in a monastery [n -S]
Lexicographical Neighbors of Prior
Literary usage of Prior
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. The History of the Reformation of the Church of England by Gilbert Burnet, Edward Nares (1843)
"Yorksh. the prior and 9 Frat. 17. Warwick, Dominic, the prior and 6 Frat. 20.
... August, the prior and IS Frat. 1«. Francis, the Warden and td Frat. ..."
2. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1919)
"prior made his way chiefly by his wit and social qualities. ... prior, the chief
coadjutor of an abbot in the government of an abbey, or the actual ruler of ..."
3. Publications by English Dialect Society (1886)
"prior, p. 28. (2) Pimpinella Saxifraga, L.—prior, p. 28. (1) Sagina procumbens,
L.—Pratt. (4) 'More particularly the genus Saxifraga."'—prior, p. ..."
4. Publications by Oxford Historical Society (1907)
"London., die ... Sept., anno 1458'. 9. Betw. Tho. Goodwyn, prior of the House &
Church of S'. Laurence of Blakemore, Com. Ess., &c., & W™ Pascali, ..."
5. Dictionary of National Biography by LESLIE. STEPHEN (1896)
"This journey prior described in a ' Voyage in the Indian Seas in the N ¡sus ...
His next expedition, in the same was to Table Bay (February 1812), prior was ..."
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