prior to
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English
[edit]Preposition
[edit]- (formal) before, previous to.
Usage notes
[edit]The etymological antonym of prior is ulterior (from Latin), and the corresponding antonym to prior to is ulterior to (compare primate/ultimate for “first/last”). This is now no longer used, however, and there is no corresponding antonym to express “after”. Typically either subsequent (to) or posterior (to) are used, but these form different pairs – precedent/subsequent and anterior/posterior – and are more formal than prior. For this reason some suggest against using prior to, particularly when it is paired with an antonym, instead using the Germanic before/after.[1][2]
Translations
[edit]before (formal)
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References
[edit]- ^ “Antonym of prior to?”, Danny Beckett, English Language & Usage, StackExchange
- ^ Garner, Modern American Usage:
“As Theodore Bernstein once pointed out, one should feel free to use prior to instead of before only if one is accustomed to using posterior to for after.