prior
14
9.3
- noun
- /ˈpraɪər/
:
prior
- Take them to Prior Puffin and tell him that Brother Abel sent you.
- Prior Dolfini
This is the stuff Anselm was teaching as prior to these monks, as meditations on the nature of the divine substance.
- This is the stuff Anselm was teaching as prior to these monks, as meditations on the nature of the divine substance.
Examples
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On Sunday the prior said the pestilence was God's new purge, send to wash away our sins.
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This is the stuff Anselm was teaching as prior to these monks, as meditations on the nature of the divine substance.
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Our prior was friendly and human, great in conversation and edifying.
Academic text (2018) -
Before Father Torquemada became the Queen's confessor our prior held that office.
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The agency of the beleaguered prior is vindicated on different terms in this new narrative, along with that of his community.
Academic text (2015) -
Though Malaspina was the prior of Naples, during this period he was resident in Malta.
Academic text (2012) -
Garth gazed adoringly up at Amesley, who led him back into the courtyard followed by Mr. Prior and Lindsay.
Fiction book (1995) -
The prior of the monastery welcomed the new recruits during their first meeting.
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After years of service, Brother Thomas was appointed as the prior of the religious order.
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The prior held a significant role in guiding the spiritual lives of the monks in his charge.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A woman who leads a group of nuns
A priest who leads a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic churches
How Senior
Surface Forms
Etymology
Prior as the name for a monk leader comes from the Latin prior, meaning 'the one before' or 'earlier', and it became the title for the monk who stood just 'before' the abbot in rank, so a prior is the second-in-command who leads when needed.