What does posteriority mean?
Posteriority is a rare formal noun meaning the state of being posterior—that is, coming after something in time, sequence, order, or rank. Its use often asks the reader or listener to attend to relative position rather than substance: a text's posteriority may be questioned when evidence suggests it appeared earlier than claimed, and an officeholder's posteriority may describe a subordinate rank. The word is chiefly encountered in scholarly, historical, legal, or otherwise technical prose. It should not be confused with posterity, which means future generations or the descendants of a person or group. Posteriority is also related etymologically to posterior, from Latin for “after” or “behind,” and to posteritas, the source of posterity. Because it sounds learned but is uncommon, the term is most effective when its precise relation of “after” is important to the argument.
nounThe state or condition of being posterior; the position or status of coming after something in time, sequence, order, or rank.
- The condition of coming after something in time, order, sequence, or rank.
"The scholar challenged the theory's posteriority by arguing that it appeared before the work it supposedly followed."
"The scholar challenged the theory's posteriority by arguing that it appeared before the work it supposedly followed."
"Its posteriority was clear from the dates attached to both drafts."
The regular plural is posteriorities, although the word is too rare for the form to be common in ordinary use.
"The study compares the posteriorities of several competing theories."
One asks about a claim's posteriority; the other concerns a family's posterity.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does posteriority come from?
Posteriority was formed in English from posterior and the suffix -ity. Posterior comes from Latin posterior, a comparative meaning “after” or “behind,” associated with post (“after”). Latin posteritas, meaning “posterity” or “descendants,” is a cognate that entered English as posterity.
How posteriority is actually used
Rare and formal, mainly used in scholarly, historical, or legal analysis. It is more abstract than posterior and requires context to make the relevant sense clear.
Easily confused with posteriority
Posteriority means the condition or position of coming after something, whereas posterity means future generations or descendants.