prior

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

His prior residence was smaller than his current one.

I had no prior knowledge you were coming.

More important or significant.

Chiefly in prior probability: of the probability of an event: determined without knowledge of the occurrence of other events that bear on it, before additional data is collected.

Chiefly followed by to: in advance, before, previously.

The doctor had known three months prior.

From the opening shots of the anonymous young Winterfell boy rushing to catch a glimpse of Jon Snow and Queen Daenerys Targaryen, hearkening back to those moments of the very first episode in which Arya rushed to do the same with an approaching King Robert Baratheon, the series is calling back to its beginning, suggesting (at least for now) that the wheel continues to turn, sending us back into a pattern begun seven seasons prior.

A prior probability distribution, that is, one determined without knowledge of the occurrence of other events that bear on it, before additional data is collected.

A prior probability distribution, that is, one determined without knowledge of the occurrence of other events that bear on it, before additional data is collected.

During each of these touchpoints, I'm asking myself where and how my thesis on each holding could be wrong. I'm checking each data point as it comes in against my priors. I'm comparing management behavior to what I would be doing if I were in their shoes.

The votes are in, and our priors are confirmed. The truth is that midterms are nearly as predictable as death and taxes: The party that controls the White House always loses and often badly at that.

A previous arrest or criminal conviction on someone's criminal record.

And a little later we get the routine report on his prints from Washington, and he's got a prior back in Indiana, attempted hold-up six years ago.