prior knowledge

Noun

prior knowledge (uncountable)

1. The knowledge that stems from experience.

   I had no prior knowledge of linguistics, but that didn't stop me from writing a dictionary.

2. (law) Knowledge of a set of circumstances sufficient to make actions based on those circumstances wrongful.

   The defendant was convicted because the prosecutor proved the defendant's prior knowledge of the victim's particular vulnerability.

3. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) Existing knowledge before one begins learning a subject, language, etc.