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 or hasty: "I have been too previous, for which you must blame the natural impatience of a man in love" (Georgette Heyer).

[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.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

I loved the oddity and previousness of the English in it.

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Niles, express this truth in terms of "the previousness of Jesus".

Toward the Fullness of Life: Intercontextual relationships in mission

Niles, for example, developed the concept of the "previousness of Christ" to argue that the risen Christ was already present and active in the transformations that were taking place in the Asian societies.

Wider ecumenism: a threat or a promise?

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