Search Result for "precedency": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (3)

1. status established in order of importance or urgency;
- Example: "...its precedence as the world's leading manufacturer of pharmaceuticals"
- Example: "national independence takes priority over class struggle"
[syn: precedence, precedency, priority]

2. preceding in time;
[syn: priority, antecedence, antecedency, anteriority, precedence, precedency]

3. the act of preceding in time or order or rank (as in a ceremony);
[syn: precession, precedence, precedency]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Precedence \Pre*ced"ence\, Precedency \Pre*ced"en*cy\, n. [Cf. F. pr['e]c['e]dence. See Precede.] 1. The act or state of preceding or going before in order of time; priority; as, one event has precedence of another. [1913 Webster] 2. The act or state of going or being before in rank or dignity, or the place of honor; right to a more honorable place; superior rank; as, barons have precedence of commoners. [1913 Webster] Which of them [the different desires] has the precedency in determining the will to the next action? --Locke. [1913 Webster] Syn: Antecedence; priority; pre["e]minence; preference; superiority. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

precedency n 1: status established in order of importance or urgency; "...its precedence as the world's leading manufacturer of pharmaceuticals"; "national independence takes priority over class struggle" [syn: precedence, precedency, priority] 2: preceding in time [syn: priority, antecedence, antecedency, anteriority, precedence, precedency] [ant: posteriority, subsequence, subsequentness] 3: the act of preceding in time or order or rank (as in a ceremony) [syn: precession, precedence, precedency]