From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Precede \Pre*cede"\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Preceded}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Preceding}.] [L. praecedere, praecessum; prae before + cedere to go, to be in motion: cf. F. pr['e]ceder. See {Pre-}, and {Cede}.]
1. To go before in order of time; to occur first with relation to anything. ''Harm precedes not sin.'' --Milton.
2. To go before in place, rank, or importance.
3. To cause to be preceded; to preface; to introduce; -- used with by or with before the instrumental object. [R.]
It is usual to precede hostilities by a public declaration. --Kent.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
verb
1: be earlier in time; go back further; "Stone tools precede bronze tools" [syn: {predate}, {forego}, {antecede}, {antedate}] [ant: {postdate}]
2: come before; "Most English adjectives precede the noun they modify" [syn: {predate}]
3: be the predecessor of; "Bill preceded John in the long line of Susan's husbands" [syn: {come before}] [ant: {succeed}]
4: move ahead (of others) in time or space [syn: {lead}] [ant: {follow}]
5: furnish with a preface or introduction; "She always precedes her lectures with a joke"; "He prefaced his lecture with a critical remark about the institution" [syn: {preface}, {premise}, {introduce}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
67 Moby Thesaurus words for "precede": announce, antecede, antedate, anticipate, be before, be early, be the bellwether, beacon, blaze the trail, break ground, break the ice, break the trail, come before, come first, create, forerun, foreshadow, front, get ahead of, get before, go ahead of, go before, go in advance, guide, harbinger, have priority, have the start, head, head the line, head the table, head up, herald, initiate, introduce, invent, kick off, lap, lead, lead off, lead the dance, lead the way, light the way, originate, outrank, outstrip, pace, pioneer, play first fiddle, precurse, predate, preexist, presage, proclaim, rank, rank first, rank out, rate, set the pace, spearhead, stand first, star, take precedence, take the initiative, take the lead, take the plunge, usher, usher in
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