PRIOR
What does "PRIOR" mean?
Existing or coming before in time, order, or importance.
Meanings
- Earlier in time or order; preceding. She had no prior experience with the software.
- Taking precedence in importance. His family has a prior claim on his time.
- A monastic officer ranking below an abbot, or the head of a priory. The prior led the monks in evening prayer.
- In statistics, a prior probability assumed before new evidence. A good Bayesian updates the prior as data comes in. technical
- A previous criminal conviction. The suspect had several priors on record. informal
Did you know?
- In statistics a 'prior' is your belief before the evidence arrives - a concept rooted in Thomas Bayes's essay, published in 1763, two years after he died.
Word origin
From Latin 'prior' (former, superior), comparative of 'pri-' (before); the monastic title reflects the prior's rank as 'the former' or 'higher' officer.
Remember it
PRIOR holds 'PRI', the Latin root meaning 'before' - it always comes first.
A little poem
Whatever happens, something came before-
the prior holds the key, and keeps the door.
couplet
Wordplay
- The monk and the statistician argued all night. One ran the monastery, the other ran the numbers - but they were both just the prior.
What it teaches
Nothing arrives on a blank page; every judgment rests on a prior you didn't notice you held.
Quick facts
What does PRIOR mean?
Existing or coming before in time, order, or importance.
Is PRIOR a valid word?
Yes — PRIOR is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is PRIOR?
PRIOR has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does PRIOR come from?
From Latin 'prior' (former, superior), comparative of 'pri-' (before); the monastic title reflects the prior's rank as 'the former' or 'higher' officer.
What can PRIOR teach us?
Nothing arrives on a blank page; every judgment rests on a prior you didn't notice you held.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.