Meaning

noun the head of a religious order; in an abbey the prior is next below the abbot

adjective earlier in time

originFrom Middle English priour, prior (“head or deputy head of a monastery or other religious house; predecessor; superior”), from Old English prior, from Anglo-Norman priour, prior, priur, and Old French prior, priur (modern French prieur), and directly from their etymon Latin prior (“ancestor; predecessor”) (whence Late Latin prior (“superior of a religious house or order; abbot; deputy abbot; head…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0