† precedev.1
Obsolete.
intransitive. To proceed.
ΚΠ
c1410 tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 89 Ageynes whom [sc. the Danes] as ofte as þe kyng precede [L. procederet], þe erle Edrik counseille nouȝt to ȝeve bataille.
1448 in S. A. Moore Lett. & Papers J. Shillingford (1871) 41 (MED) We wold have preceded theryn to somme gode conclusion, and the matier is attained at large yn the Comyn lawe.
a1450 Castle of Love (Bodl. Add.) (1967) 1455 (MED) Precedit hem fro [c1390 Vernon In þe Fader and in þe Sone also And in þe holygost þat glit of hem bo].
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
precedev.2
/prᵻˈsiːd/, /ˌpriːˈsiːd/, U.S. /priˈsid/, /prəˈsid/ 1. transitive. To go before in time; to happen or exist before; to be earlier than. Also intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > antecedence or being earlier > occur earlier or go before [verb (intransitive)]
precede?a1425
prevent1542
to go before1585
anticipate1588
the world > time > relative time > the past > antecedence or being earlier > precede or come before [verb (transitive)]
forecomea1300
precede?a1425
fore-run1590
usher1607
eve1638
to usher in1641
surmounta1647
antevene1655
antedate1664
antecedea1676
anticipate1855
precourse1888
predate1889
precursea1892
?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 92 (MED) Þer ben manie tokens þat preceden þe discracioun & enpostume of woundes.
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 44v Vniuersale doyng was disposicion of a certane coniunccioun of..Saturnus, Iubiter, & Mars whych preceded [?c1425 Paris come; L. precesserat] in þe ȝere of oure lorde 1345.
a1540 R. Barnes Wks. (1573) 278/2 Whether..the will of God is alonely the cause of election, or els any merite of man precedyng afore.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) v. 28 The singis & taikkyns that precedis the daye of iugement.
1583 A. Nowell et al. True Rep. Disput. E. Campion sig. E3 Opera non præcedunt iustificandum, sed sequuntur iustificatum: Workes doe not preceede a man to be iustified, but doe follow him being iustified.
1653 Ld. Vaux tr. A. Godeau Life St. Paul 161 He told them of signes which should preceed the day of Judgement.
1704 R. Nelson Compan. Festivals & Fasts i. xxiv. 253 Advent Sundays..The four Sundays that precede the great Festival of our Saviour's Nativity.
1772 J. Priestley Inst. Relig. I. 14 Infinite duration must have preceded the present moment.
1861 M. Pattison in Westm. Rev. Apr. 410 The century preceding the formation of the Hanseatic federation.
1915 W. Cather Song of Lark ii. xi. 236 During the silence which preceded the blessing, Thea felt something uncomfortable in the air.
1985 A. Kenny Path from Rome (1986) vi. 80 We were free until 12.15 when a quarter of an hour's spiritual reading in chapel preceded lunch.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > go or come out [verb (intransitive)]
outgoeOE
to come outOE
forthcomeOE
to go outOE
to go outOE
ishc1330
to take forth one's way (also journey, road, etc.)a1375
proceedc1380
getc1390
exorta1400
issue?a1400
precedec1425
purgea1430
to come forthc1449
suea1450
ushc1475
to call one's way (also course)1488
to turn outa1500
void1558
redound1565
egress1578
outpacea1596
result1598
pursue1651
out1653
pop1770
to get out1835
progress1851
the world > action or operation > doing > a proceeding > proceed or carry on an action [verb (intransitive)]
workeOE
doOE
proceedc1390
movec1400
precedec1425
deal1470
plough furrow1597
walka1653
process1835
the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > outdoing or surpassing > outdo or surpass [verb (transitive)]
overstyeOE
overshinec1175
overgoc1225
passc1225
surmountc1369
forpassc1374
overmatcha1375
overpassa1382
to pass overa1393
overcomec1400
outpass?a1425
exceedc1425
precedec1425
superexcelc1429
transcendc1430
precel?a1439
outcut1447
overgrowc1475
to come over ——a1479
excel1493
overleapa1500
vanquish1533
outweigh1534
prevent1540
better1548
preferc1550
outgo1553
surpassa1555
exsuperate1559
cote1566
overtop1567
outrun1575
outstrip1579
outsail1580
overruna1586
pre-excel1587
outbid1589
outbrave1589
out-cote1589
top1590
outmatch1593
outvie1594
superate1595
surbravec1600
oversile1608
over-height1611
overstride1614
outdoa1616
outlustrea1616
outpeera1616
outstrikea1616
outrival1622
antecede1624
out-top1624
antecell1625
out-pitch1627
over-merit1629
outblazea1634
surmatch1636
overdoa1640
overact1643
outact1644
worst1646
overspana1657
outsoar1674
outdazzle1691
to cut down1713
ding1724
to cut out1738
cap1821
by-pass1848
overtower1850
pretergress1851
outray1876
outreach1879
cut1884
outperform1937
outrate1955
one-up1963
c1425 Bk. Found. St. Bartholomew's (1923) 39 (MED) God may delyuer vs from oure peryll..whoes dyuyne will eternally precedith euery creature.
c1480 (a1400) St. John Baptist 177 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 228 Ymang birthis þat weman bare þane Iohne baptiste vas nane mare; for he al vthyre in þat precedis, & ewine is to þame in gud dedis.
1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 150 Men in the feruencie of deuotion did not precede the weaker sex.
1766 H. Brooke Fool of Quality I. vi. 212 Through the enfoldings of the stranger's modesty, Mr. Fenton discerned many things preceding the vulgar rank of men.
1843 M. G. Brooks Idomen 14 It scarcely need be remarked that, in the fine arts, Philadelphia far preceded any other city of the North American republic.
3.
a. transitive. To go before; to move or walk ahead or in front of. (In quot. c1475 used intransitively with before in same sense.) Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > going first or in front > go in front of [verb (transitive)]
foregoc900
precedec1475
preventa1500
fore-ride1570
fore-run1570
usher1599
huisher1606
c1475 tr. C. de Pisan Livre du Corps de Policie (Cambr.) (1977) 126 (MED) By cause..that they preced not befor him to saue him from the shotte of his enmys, the senatour..ordened that all the yer aftir the same people had [no] wagees.
a1483 Liber Niger in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (1790) 19 Clerkes and yeomen..to precede the King..whythyr somever the King go.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 664/1 I precede, I go byfore another to a place or in order.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. i. 106 + 15 As harbindgers preceading still the fates.
1713 R. Steele Englishman No. 55. 352 Streamers..preceded a Cart, wherein were placed three large Figures.
1788 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall (1869) II. xlv. 677 Terror preceded his march.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xi. 85 I sometimes preceded him in cutting the steps.
1929 E. Bowen Joining Charles 114 A lady with white hair piled up on her forehead came in, preceded by one dog and followed by another.
1991 Daily Tel. 5 Jan. (Weekend Suppl.) 16/8 The Straw Bear..tours the town with musicians, Morris, Sword and Molly Dancers, preceded by a plough.
b. transitive. Astronomy. Of a celestial object: to be situated to the west of (another) in the sky; to be at a lower right ascension than. Cf. preceding adj. 3.Where the sun, moon, or planets are concerned the preceding object will in general rise before the other in the apparent diurnal motion of the heavens, although this is not always the case.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > heavenly body > movement of heavenly bodies > move [verb (transitive)] > rise > before
precede1667
1667 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 2 460 It then seemed to me not the genuine New Star, but another, to wit, preceding the New.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Pisces Names and Situations of the Stars... 1st. of those preced [ing] the Square under the South[ern] Fish.
1860 M. F. Maury Physical Geogr. Sea (ed. 8) vi. §313 Canopus and Sirius..are high up in their course; they look down with great splendour..as they precede the Southern Cross on its western way.
1930 Isis 14 315 The orientation of the southern panel is astronomically correct, so that Orion precedes Sirius in the westward motion of the southern sky.
1995 Q. Jrnl. Royal Astron. Soc. 36 116 According to Firmicus, the heliacal transition of Jupiter from the evening to morning (west to east) sky was complete when its rising preceded the Sun by 12°.
4. transitive. To go before in rank or importance; to occupy a position of greater seniority, status, etc., than; to take precedence over. Also intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being better or superior > [verb (transitive)]
to go before ——OE
overlightlOE
preferc1395
precede1485
precess1529
to take the wall (of a person)?1562
outshine1605
to have the place1659
to take the road of1670
rank1841
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > honour > give honour to [verb (transitive)] > take precedence of
precede1485
to take the right hand of1607
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > honour > be honoured [verb (intransitive)] > take precedence
to take the right-hand file1616
precede1654
1485 W. Caxton tr. Paris & Vienne (1957) 12 The other grete lordes that shal be there procedyng your degree.
1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres iv. 117 The Colonels companie preceedeth all others of his regiment.
1654 Earl of Monmouth tr. G. Bentivoglio Compl. Hist. Warrs Flanders 123 Who..precedes now in the universal Government of Christ's flock by the name of Urban the Eight.
a1677 I. Barrow Treat. Pope's Supremacy (1680) 235 Such a reason of precedence S. Cyprian giveth in another case, Because..Rome for its magnitude ought to precede Carthage.
1725 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey I. i. 506 To your pretence their title would precede.
1819 A. Rees Cycl. XXVIII. at Precedence All the sons of viscounts and barons are allowed to precede baronets.
1839 M. R. Mitford in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) III. vii. 99 I have another short engagement, which ought to precede yours.
1971 Times 23 Feb. 3/5 An expensive arts centre could be given priority over other projects which might precede it in importance.
1997 Business Times (Malaysia) (Nexis) 30 July 4 In importance, neither one precedes the other.
5. transitive. To go before in order or arrangement; to occupy a prior position. Also intransitive. See also preceding adj. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > preceding or following in order > precede or follow in order [verb (transitive)] > precede in order
to go before ——OE
precedea1552
fore-run1570
prevene1596
frontal1652
a1552 J. Leland Itinerary (1711) V. 47 Rethelan,..cummith of Rethe,..and Glan..;..when Glan is set with a Worde præceding G is explodid.
1673 W. Mountagu in Buccleuch MSS (Hist. MSS Comm.) (1899) I. 320 One for the Duchess of Portsmouth, preceded with a patent of indenization.
1711 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks I. iii. 253 In opposition to his grave Disciple and Successor in the Academy. [Note] See the Citations immediately preceding.
1764 Philos. Trans. 1763 (Royal Soc.) 53 136 This very figure of Tzade immediately precedes the numeral characters in the exergues of several Sidonian coins.
1837 T. D. Hardy Rot. Chart. 31 The Datal clause in Anglo-Saxon charters generally..precedes the names of the witnesses.
1879 A. Bain Higher Eng. Gram. 145 When the adjective ends in y preceded by a consonant, the y is changed into i.
1895 J. M. Falkner Lost Stradivarius 273 I turned to the context to see whether there was anything in the entries preceding or following the lacuna that would afford a clue to the missing passage.
1925 Glasgow Herald 10 July 11 A ‘monomark’, consisting of a combination of symbols preceded by B.C.M. (British Commercial Monomark).
1990 Sci. Amer. Apr. 25/1 The network is designed to associate a letter with a phoneme by looking at several letters preceding and following it.
6. transitive. To cause to be preceded by; to preface or introduce with or by.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > preceding or following in order > precede or follow in order [verb (transitive)] > precede in order > put or place before > cause to be preceded by
precede1718
1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 10 Mar. (1965) I. 383 The Emperor precedes his visit by a Royal present.
1794 A. M. Bennett Ellen IV. 51 The old man..never..addressed her, without preceding Winifred with Mrs. or Miss.
a1834 S. T. Coleridge Notes & Lect. (1849) I. 222 No modern writer would have dared, like Shakspeare, to have preceded this last visitation by two distinct appearances.
1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 31 Mar. 4/3 If it was the intention of the Government to postpone the dissolution until September or later, they would undoubtedly have to precede that by a measure of registration.
1918 Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. 33 531 He..repeats the text..preceding it by the saying: ‘regnum Dei intra vos est, non in exteriori vestitu’.
1992 Wine Spectator 31 May 65/1 Each winery would precede a tasting with a long series of toasts.
2000 Herald-Sun (Durham, N. Carolina) (Nexis) 1 Aug. a1 Actor Ben Stein..preceded her speech with a quickie version of the television show ‘Win Ben Stein's Money’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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