πρότερος πρότερος and πρῶτος comp. and Sup. formed from πρό
II.of Time, before, former, sooner, Hom., etc.; οἱ πρότεροι men of former times, Il.; πρότερος γενεῇ id=Il.; but, πρ. παῖδες children by the first or a former marriage, Od.; τῇ προτέρῃ (sc. ἡμέρᾳ) on the day before, Lat. pridie, id=Od.; ὁ πρότερος Διονύσιος Dionysius the elder, Xen.:—the adj. is often used where we use the adv., ὅ με πρότερος κάκ᾽ ἔοργεν Il., etc.
2.as a regular comp., c. gen., id=Il., Hdt., etc.; also foll. by ἤ, τῷ προτέρῳ ἔτεϊ ἢ κρητῆρα [ἐληίσαντο] Hdt.
III.of Rank, Worth, and generally of Precedence, before, above, superior, Dem.; πρ. τινος πρός τι superior to him in a thing, Plat.
IV.after Hom., neut. πρότερον as adv. before, sooner, earlier, Hdt., etc.; ὀλίγον πρ. Plat.:—c. gen., ὀλίγῳ τι πρ. τούτων Hdt., etc.; most commonly foll. by ἤ, id=Hdt., attic; also by πρίν, πρὶν ἄν, πρὶν ἤ, Hdt., attic; also used with the Art., τὸ πρ. τῶν ἀνδρῶν τούτων Hdt.: adv. often between Art. and Subst., e. g. ὁ πρότερον βασιλεύς id=Hdt.
I.adj. first, serving as the ordinal to the cardinal εἷς, Hom.
2.of Place, first, foremost, ἐνὶ πρώτοισι or μετὰ πρώτοισι alone, Il.; ἐν πρώτῳ ῥυμῷ at the front or end of the pole, id=Il.; πρώτῃσι θύρῃσι at the first or outermost doors, id=Il.
4.of Order, πρῶτοι πάντων ἀνθρώπων Hdt.; τῇ πρώτῃ τῶν ἡμερῶν id=Hdt.:— ἐν πρώτοις, among the first, then like Lat. imprimis, above all, especially, greatly, id=Hdt.; in attic, ἐν τοῖς πρῶτοι (v. τό A. IV. 7):—in late Greek it is even foll. by a gen., πρῶτός μου NTest.
1.(sc. ἆθλα), the first prize, Il., Soph.
3.the first, highest, in degree, τὰ πρ. τᾶς λιμῶ (doric) the extremities of famine, Ar.; ἐς τὰ πρῶτα τιμᾶσθαι Thuc.:—of persons, ἐὼν τῶν Ἐρετριέων τὰ πρῶτα Hdt.; τὰ πρῶτα τῆς ἐκεῖ μοχθηρίας the chief of the rascality down there, Ar.
III.as adv.,
1.τὴν πρώτην (sc. ὥραν, ὁδόν) first, at present, just now, Hdt., etc.; so, τὴν πρώτην εἶναι, like ἑκὼν εἶναι, at first, id=Hdt.
a.first, in the first place, Lat. primum, Hom., etc.
b.= πρότερον, before, Xen., Anth.
4.first, for the first time, Soph., etc.; ἐπεὶ πρῶτον, Lat. quum primum, as soon as, Hom.; so, ὁππότε κε πρῶτον Od.; ὅτε or ὅταν πρ. Dem.; ἐὰν or ἢν πρ. Plat.
IV.adv. πρώτως, Arist., etc.