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Definition of previous - 4 dictionary results

pre⋅vi⋅ous

  [pree-vee-uhs]
Use previous in a Sentence
–adjective
1. coming or occurring before something else; prior: the previous owner.
2. Informal. done, occurring, etc., before the proper time; premature: Aren't you a little previous with that request?
—Idiom
3. previous to, before; prior to: Previous to moving here she lived in Chicago.
Origin:
1615–25; < L praevius going before, equiv. to prae- pre- + vi(a) way + -us adj. suffix

Related forms:
pre⋅vi⋅ous⋅ly, adverb
pre⋅vi⋅ous⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. earlier, former, preceding, foregoing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To previous
pre·vi·ous   (prē'vē-əs)   
adj.  
  1. Existing or occurring before something else in time or order; prior: children by a previous marriage.
  2. Informal Acting, occurring, or done too soon; premature.

[From Latin praevius, going before : prae-, pre- + via, way; see wegh- in Indo-European roots.]
pre'vi·ous·ly adv., pre'vi·ous·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Previous

Pre"vi*ous\, a. [L. praevius going before, leading the way; prae before + via the way. See Voyage.] Going before in time; being or happening before something else; antecedent; prior; as, previous arrangements; a previous illness.

The dull sound . . . previous to the storm, Rolls o'er the muttering earth. --Thomson.

Previous question. (Parliamentary Practice) See under Question, and compare Closure.

Previous to, before; -- often used adverbially for previously. "Previous to publication." --M. Arnold. "A policy . . . his friends had advised previous to 1710." --J. H. Newman.

Syn: Antecedent; preceding; anterior; prior; foregoing; former.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : previous
Spanish: anterior,
German: früher,
Japanese: 前の
More Translations »

previous 
1625, from L. prævius "going before," from præ "before" + via "road" (see via).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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