The superior of a priory, and next below an abbot in dignity.

a chief magistrate, as in the republic of Florence in the middle ages.

The Prior is the leader of the local community or house*. Known as the praepositus by St. Augustine, he is regarded in the Augustinian tradition as the "first among equals" with authority, along with his Council,* to make decisions in the name of the community. The Prior differs, for example, from an Abbot in the Benedictine tradition in the limits of his authority and his term of office.

In Benedictine monasteries, the second in command after the abbot; also a term for the head of a religious house that did not have the legal status of a monastery. (Lynch, Joseph H. The Medieval Church: A Brief History, 364) Related terms: Priory

Preceding in the order of time; former; antecedent; anterior; previous; as, a prior discovery; prior obligation; -- used elliptically in cases like the following: he lived alone [in the time] prior to his marriage.

First, precedent, or superior in the order of cognition, reason or generality, origin, development, rank, etc.

a prior conviction; -- said of an accused criminal.

A word usually used to talk about a past conviction.

earlier in time

A title insurance policy or abstract that we or another title company have already issued on a piece of property.

Prior is a title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.