English

Preposition

prior to

1. (formal) before

Usage notes

The etymological antonym of prior is ulterior (from Latin), and the corresponding antonym to prior to is ulterior to (compare primate/ultimate for “first/last”). This is now no longer used, however, and there is no corresponding antonym to express “after”. Typically either subsequent (to) or posterior (to) are used, but these form different pairs – precedent/subsequent and anterior/posterior – and are more formal than prior. For this reason some suggest against using prior to, particularly when it is paired with an antonym, instead using the Germanic before/after.^[1][2]

Translations

References

1. ↑ “Antonym of prior to?”, Danny Beckett, English Language & Usage, StackExchange
2. ↑ Garner, Modern American Usage:
   “As Theodore Bernstein once pointed out, one should feel free to use prior to instead of before only if one is accustomed to using posterior to for after.