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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

pre·vi·ous

Audio Help [pree-vee-uh

s] Pronunciation Key

–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 (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

pre·vi·ous Audio Help (prē'vē-əs) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Existing or occurring before something else in time or order; prior: children by a previous marriage.
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.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
previous

1625, from L. prævius "going before," from præ "before" + via "road" (see via).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

previous
adjective
1.	just preceding something else in time or order; "the previous owner"; "my old house was larger"
2.	(used especially of persons) of the immediate past; "the former president"; "our late President is still very active"; "the previous occupant of the White House" [syn: former]
3.	too soon or too hasty; "our condemnation of him was a bit previous"; "a premature judgment"

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
previous [ˈpriːviəs] adjective

earlier in time or order
Example: on a previous occasion; the previous owner of the house

Arabic:	سابِق
Chinese (Simplified):	（时间或顺序上）早先的，在前的
Chinese (Traditional):	(時間或順序上)早先的，在前的
Czech:	předešlý
Danish:	forudgående; tidligere
Dutch:	vorig
Estonian:	eelmine
Finnish:	edellinen
French:	précédent
German:	früher
Greek:	προηγούμενος
Hungarian:	(meg)előző
Icelandic:	fyrri
Indonesian:	sebelumnya
Italian:	precedente

Japanese:	前の
Korean:	이전의, 앞선
Latvian:	iepriekšējs; agrāks; līdzšinējs
Lithuanian:	ankstesnis
Norwegian:	tidligere, foregående
Polish:	poprzedni
Portuguese (Brazil):	anterior
Portuguese (Portugal):	prévio
Romanian:	precedent
Russian:	предыдущий
Slovak:	predošlý
Slovenian:	prejšnji
Spanish:	anterior
Swedish:	föregående, tidigare
Turkish:	bir önceki

See also: previous to

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

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