adjectivethird declension
prior
prior (comparative, neuter prius, no positive form, superlative prīmus)
Classical[ˈpri.ɔr]Ecclesiastical[ˈpriː.or]
№ 526 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- comparativeformer, prior, previous, earlier (preceding in time)
priore anno
the year before, the previous year; during the year beforepriore aestate
the previous summer - comparativethe first, the original
- comparativein front
- comparativefigurativelybetter, superior
[...] tē propter eundem / exstīnctus pudor et, quā sōlā sīdera adībam, / fāma prior. [...]
“Likewise, because of you, my sense of honor is gone, and a better reputation which was my only way to the stars.” (As a widow, Dido's chastity and devotion to the memory of her first husband would have been well-regarded in Augustan Rome.)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.321–323 - Medieval Latincomparativesubstantiveabbot, prior
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
ante alterum, prīmusprior — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 5
māiōrēs, antīquīpriōrēs -um (m) — in Epistulae, ch. 3
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | prior | prior | prius |
| genitive | priōris | priōris | priōris |
| dative | priōrī | priōrī | priōrī |
| accusative | priōrem | priōrem | prius |
| ablative | priōre priōrī | priōre priōrī | priōre priōrī |
| vocative | prior | prior | prius |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | priōrēs | priōrēs | priōra |
| genitive | priōrum | priōrum | priōrum |
| dative | priōribus | priōribus | priōribus |
| accusative | priōrēs priōrīs | priōrēs priōrīs | priōra |
| ablative | priōribus | priōribus | priōribus |
| vocative | priōrēs | priōrēs | priōra |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- superiore, priore anno
- last year.
prĭor and prĭus (old form also in
I. neutr. prior, Val. Antias and Quadrig. ap. Prisc. p. 767), ōris, adj. comp. [from obsol. prep. pri; v. primus init.], former, previous, prior, freq. to be translated first; cf. superior; Cicero nearly always uses prior, opp. to posterior, in time; superior in sense of former, in gen. relation to the present, when no other time is expressed; v. Krebs, Antibarb. p. 921 sq.
I. Lit.:
ita priori posterius, posteriori superius non jungitur, Cic. Ac. 2, 14, 44: me quaestorem in primis, aedilem priorem, praetorem primum populus Romanus faciebat, id. Pis. 1, 2: qui prior has angustias occupaverit, first, Caes. B. C. 1, 66: prior proelio lacessere, id. ib. 1, 82: etsi utrique primas, priores tamen libenter deferunt Laelio, Cic. Brut. 21, 84: priore loco causam dicere, first, id. Quint. 9, 32: priore aestate, in the former summer, last summer, id. Fam. 1, 9, 24: priore nocte, id. Cat. 1, 4, 8: factum est enim meā culpā, ut priore anno non succederetur, id. Q. Fr. 1, 1, 1, § 2: prioribus comitiis, id. Planc. 22, 54: priore anno, the year before, Liv. 3, 9, 7; 3, 10, 14; 4, 56, 5: prioris anni consules, id. 4, 13, 10; 4, 17, 9: Dionysius prior, the elder, Nep. Dion, 1, 3: vinum, of last year, Plin. 14, 19, 24, § 120: priore libro, in the previous book, Col. 4, 22, 9: pedes, the forefeet, Nep. Eum. 5, 5; Plin. 8, 45, 70, § 181: canities homini semper a priori parte capitis, tum deinde ab aversā, the forepart, Plin. 11, 37, 47, § 131.—Pleon.: cum prior Romanus exercitus praevenisset, Liv. 9, 23, 2: prius praecepta res erat, id. 21, 32, 7; cf. id. 9, 23, 2.— Old neutr. prior: hoc senatusconsultum prior factum est, Val. Antias ap. Prisc. p. 767 P.: prior bellum, Quadrig. ib.: foedus prior, id. ib. (cf.: bellum Punicum posterior, Cass. Hem. ib.).—2. Former, i. e. deceased (late Lat.):
inter prieres fratres, Amm. 21, 6, 2.—B. Subst.: prĭōres, um, m., forefathers, ancestors, the ancients (poet. and in post-Aug. prose):
abiturus illuc, quo priores abierunt, Phaedr. 4, 18, 16: nomen dixere priores Ortygiam, Verg. A. 3, 693: nec ingeniis investigata priorum, Ov. M. 15, 146; 332: priores tradiderunt, Col. 1, 4, 3: nostri, Plin. Ep. 3, 4: more priorum, Ov. M. 10, 218; Sen. Ep. 52, 2.—II. Trop., better, superior, preferable, more excellent or important (not in Cic. and Cæs.):
bellante prior, Hor. C. S. 51: color puniceae flore prior rosae, id. C. 4, 10, 4; Ov. H. 18, 69: ut nemo haberetur prior, Liv. 27, 8: aetate et sapientiā, Sall. J. 10, 7: consilio et manu, id. ib. 96, 3: neque prius, neque antiquius quidquam habuit, quam, etc., Vell. 2, 52, 4.—Esp. with potior: potius quanto prius potiusque est Philippum nobis conjungere quam hos, Vell. 36, 7, 6: nulla (res) prior potiorque visa est, id. 8, 29, 2: nihil prius nec potius visum, id. 39, 47, 4: unus Plinius est mihi priores, i. e. worth more than they all, Sent. Augur. ap. Plin. Ep. 4, 27, 4: artium multitudine prior omnibus, eloquentiā nulli secundus, App. Flor. 2, p. 346.—Hence, adv. comp.: prĭus. A. Before, sooner, first, previously (class.).
1. Alone:
quem fuit aequius, ut prius introieram in vitam, sic prius exire de vitā, Cic. Lael. 4, 15: regem prius Europā, post et Asiā, expellere, Liv. 37, 52, 4: ut vos prius experti estis, nunc Antiochus experitur, id. 36, 17, 8; so, prius ... nunc, Verg. G. 3, 362: prius ... tum, Cato, R. R. 135; Liv. 34, 55, 5: prius .... postea, id. 29, 12, 11.—2. With quam, and often joined in one word, priusquam.
(a). Before that, before:
prius quam lucet, assunt, before dawn, Plaut. Mil. 3, 1, 115: prius illi erimus quam tu, id. Ps. 2, 4, 68: prius quam plane aspexit ilico eum esse dixit, id. Rud. 4, 4, 87: nihil prius mihi faciendum putavi, quam ut, etc., Cic. Att. 4, 1, 1: cui prius quam de ceteris rebus respondeo, de amicitiā pauca dicam, before, id. Phil. 2, 1, 3: quod ego, prius quam loqui coepisti, sensi, id. Vatin. 2, 4: neque prius fugere destiterunt, quam ad flumen Rhenum pervenerunt, Caes. B. G. 1, 53: quid potius faciam, prius quam me dormitum conferam, non reperio, Cic. Fam. 9, 26, 1: priusquam aggrediar, etc., id. Balb. 7, 18: prius quam ad portam venias, Ter. Ad. 4, 2, 44.—(b). Sooner, rather:
Aegyptii quamvis carnificinam prius subierint, quam ibin aut aspidem violent, Cic. Tusc. 5, 27, 78; id. Lig. 12, 34; Caes. B. C. 3, 1.—Sometimes in an inverted order: ad hoc genus hominum duravi, quam prius me ad plures penetravi, Plaut. Trin. 2, 2, 13; Prop. 2, 14, 11 (3, 10, 10); v. Zumpt, Gram. § 576.—B. In gen., formerly, in former times (poet.), Cat. 51, 13:
sed haec prius fuere: nunc, etc., id. 4, 25; Prop. 1, 1, 18.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
prior neut. prius, ōris, adj. comp. (for sup. see primus)
PRO-, former, previous, prior, first : me quaestorem in primis, aedilem priorem, praetorem primum populus R. faciebat: qui prior has angustias occupaverit, first , Cs.: exercitus, L.: priore loco causam dicere, first : priore aestate, last summer : prioribus comitiis: priore anno, the preceding year , L.: Dionysius prior, the elder , N.: pedes, the forefeet , N.—Plur m . as subst, forefathers, ancestors, the ancients : abiturus illuc, quo priores abierunt, Ph.: nomen dixere priores Ortygiam, V.: more priorum, O.—Fig., better, superior, preferable, more excellent : color puniceae flore prior rosae, H.: ut nemo haberetur prior, L.: aetate et sapientiā, S.: quanto prius potiusque est . . . quam, etc., L.—Plur f . as subst . (only acc; sc. partīs), superior rank, preference, lead : etsi utrique primas, priores tamen libenter deferunt Laelio.
Origins
From Proto-Italic *priōs, from earlier *prijōs, from *pri + *-jōs, thus the comparative degree of Old Latin *pri (“before”), from Proto-Italic *pri from Proto-Indo-European *préy (“before”).
Descendants
- Catalanprior
- Englishprior
- Frenchprieur
- Italianpriore
- GermanPriorfrom Middle High German prior
- Portugueseprior
- Romanianprior
- Spanishprior
- Czechpřevor
- Dutchprior