Etymograph

English

prior

Prior comes from Latin prior ‘earlier, former’, from Proto-Italic *priōs ‘more before’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pró ‘forwards, before’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pró1‘forwards, before’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pri1‘before’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*priōs1‘former, earlier’literally ‘more before’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprior1‘earlier, former’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1739prior1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English prior
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1739, David Hume, Rules by which to Judge of Causes and Effects: “Since therefore 'tis poſſible for all objects to become…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*próWiktionary, English prior‘forwards, before’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*priWiktionary, English prior‘before’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*priōsWiktionary, English prior‘former, earlier’literally ‘more before’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpriorWiktionary, English prior‘earlier, former’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1739priorWiktionary, English prior. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1739, David Hume, Rules by which to Judge of Causes and Effects: “Since therefore 'tis poſſible for all objects to become…”

The story

The adjective is a learned borrowing from Latin prior (‘earlier, former, previous, prior; in front; (figurative) better, superior’), from Proto-Italic *priōs (“earlier, previous”, literally “more before”), ultimately from *pri (‘before’) (from Proto-Indo-European *pró (‘leading to, toward’) and its etymon *per- (‘before, in front; first’)) + *-jōs (suffix forming comparative adjectives).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with prior, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘in front, before’

  • first ← fyrest ← *furist ← *furistaz ← *furai
  • before ← before//bifore ← beforan ← foran ← *furai
  • far ← ferre ← *ferrai ← *per-nóy
  • per
  • further ← forþor ← *furþer
  • support ← supporten ← supporter ← supportō ← portō
  • report ← reporten ← reporter ← reportāre ← porto
  • fear ← feer ← fǣr ← *fērō
  • press ← presse ← pressa ← presser ← pressāre
  • practice
  • opportunity ← opportunité ← opportūnitās ← opportūnus ← portus
  • private ← privat ← prīvātus ← prīvō ← prīvus

196 more relatives in the full family tree

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Another origin of prior

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*préy‘before’reconstructed
  2. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCE*pri‘before’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*priōs‘former’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprior‘ancestor’
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400priour
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150prior
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500priour
  8. Englishtodayprior

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Today it means

adj Coming before in order or time; earlier, former, previous.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “prior”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pró / prior