D defs.my
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Entry 5 senses · 3 variants Webster, 1913

Prior

/prī'-ẽr/ · Pri·or · IPA /ˈpɹaɪ.(ə)ɹ/
01 a. Preceding in the order of time; former; antecedent; anterior; previous; as, a prior discovery; prior obligation; -- used elliptically in ca…
  1. 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. 2.
    First, precedent, or superior in the order of cognition, reason or generality, origin, development, rank, etc.
02 n. The superior of a priory, and next below an abbot in dignity.
  1. 1.
    The superior of a priory, and next below an abbot in dignity.(Eccl.)
  2. 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.
03 n. a prior conviction; -- said of an accused criminal.
  1. 1.
    a prior conviction; -- said of an accused criminal.[informal]