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# prior

«prior» in Mova's mysticism dictionary: **Happening or existing before something else; earlier** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

adjective (formal); preposition phrase (prior to); noun (a prior: a monk who leads a priory)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (formal) Happening or existing before something else; earlier. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/mysticism/P/prior/#m1)

2) prior to (formal): before. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/mysticism/P/prior/#m2)

3) (noun) The head of a group of monks or a priory. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/mysticism/P/prior/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In the mystic school: In note 03 a prior is what a model expects before it looks; the Medium of the Internet is "a powerful prior", but not "a final court". In the primary lessons: Formal exam and official word: "prior to the race, she had 10 dollars" means before the race. "No prior knowledge needed" means you don't need to know it before. Phrases: prior to, prior knowledge, prior experience.

### examples

- The unfamiliar structure has low prior probability; the model cannot easily place it; so it increases pressure toward a familiar basin. (note 03) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/mysticism/P/prior/#x1)
- It makes the internal route visible — and that matters, because models are much better at following transitions than teleporting between distant priors. (note 03) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/mysticism/P/prior/#x2)
- It is a powerful prior. (note 03) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/mysticism/P/prior/#x3)
- The note calls this a "distributional panic": not a feeling, but a fast return toward high-density states, because the unfamiliar structure has low prior probability and the model cannot place it. (lesson 006) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/mysticism/P/prior/#x4)
- The Medium is not the enemy: it is a powerful prior, a starting point and a second opinion, but not a final court; a good model can say "this is far from my training median" without turning that into "therefore it is false", and asks where exactly the disagreement begins — and can leave the centre without losing the path back. (lesson 006) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/mysticism/P/prior/#x5)
- Prior to the trip, every child needs a signed form. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/mysticism/P/prior/#x6)
- No prior knowledge is needed for this course. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/mysticism/P/prior/#x7)
- She had a prior appointment and could not come. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/mysticism/P/prior/#x8)
- Prior to lunch, he had 12 sweets; after lunch he had 7. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/mysticism/P/prior/#x9)
- Wash your hands prior to eating. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/mysticism/P/prior/#x10)
- The prior led the monks in prayer. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/mysticism/P/prior/#x11)
- Many are obtained from ancient authors prior to the time in which he lived. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/mysticism/P/prior/#x12)

### note

Formal; plain word: before, earlier. Noun: priority (something more important). In maths, "prior to" gives the starting amount before a change.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «prior» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/mysticism/P/prior/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.