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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Precedency

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.

  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.

    Which of them [the different desires] has the precedency in determining the will to the next action?
    --Locke.

    Syn: Antecedence; priority; pre["e]minence; preference; superiority.

Wiktionary
precedency

n. 1 precedence; superiority. 2 (context obsolete English) The fact of serving as a precedent.

WordNet
precedency
  1. n. 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, priority]

  2. preceding in time [syn: priority, antecedence, antecedency, anteriority, precedence] [ant: posteriority]

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

Usage examples of "precedency".

The most trifling occasion, a transient scarcity of flesh or lentils, the neglect of an accustomed salutation, a mistake of precedency in the public baths, or even a religious dispute, ^173 were at any time sufficient to kindle a sedition among that vast multitude, whose resentments were furious and implacable.