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.