prier / prior [ˈpraiɜr]
prier – n. – 1. one who seeks out private information, often inappropriately, a snoop, a busybody; 2. a spy; 3. one who investigates in detail
prior – adj., adv. & n. – adj. – antecedent, earlier, comes before in time; adv. – before, in advance of; n. – 1. a superior in a religious house or order; 2. History an elected head of a guild; 3. a chief magistrate in the Florentine republic; 4. the head of a company; 5. a previous conviction or arrest