pridie

Latin

Alternative forms

• pr.

Etymology

A contracted form of Old Latin *pri + diē (“before the day”)

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈpriː.di.eː/, [ˈpriːd̪ieː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈpri.di.e/, [ˈpriːd̪ie]

Adverb

prīdiē (not comparable)

1. On the day before
   • Cicero, Att., 5.11.6:

     ...pridie quam ego Athenas veni...

     ...on the day before I came to Athens...

   ...pridie Kalendas Februarias...

   ...on the day before the February calends...

Usage notes

Used particularly in Roman dating for the day before the calends (kalendae), nones (nonae), or ides (īdūs) of each month.

Treated as an absolute followed by a noun in the accusative case or quam and its clause. In classical Latin, followed by a genitive only in the fixed expression pridie eius diei.

References

• “pridie”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “pridie”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• pridie in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.