Prejudice
Etymology
From Latin "praejudicium" (a preceding judgment, a precedent), "prae-" (before) + "judicium" (judgment). Literally a judgment made beforehand — the timing, not the content, is what the word originally marked.
noun · /PREJ-uh-dis/
A preformed, usually negative judgment about a person or group, held prior to or against the evidence.
What it names
The judgment made in advance — deciding before knowing.
Example
She caught her own prejudice mid-thought and forced herself to read the résumé again.
Related idea
A bias is any systematic tilt, often unconscious and not necessarily hostile; prejudice is a specific adverse judgment, usually about people, held against the facts. All prejudice is bias, but most bias is not prejudice.