antecedence

Definitions

The state or fact of being earlier in time; priority.

The act or state of preceding in order or rank.

Examples

The historical antecedence of these legal principles can be traced back to ancient Roman law.

In the study of linguistics, the antecedence of a pronoun must be clearly established to avoid ambiguity.

Synonyms

priority precedence preeminence foregoing anteriority lead preference

Antonyms

posteriority subsequence succession following inferiority subordination aftermath