What is "preoccupancy"

Preoccupancy \Pre*oc"cu*pan*cy\, n. [See Preoccupate.] The act or right of taking possession before another; as, the preoccupancy of wild land.

also pre-occupancy, "prior occupation," 1734, from pre- + occupancy.

n. The act or right of taking possession before another.

1. n. the mental state of being preoccupied by something [syn: preoccupation, absorption, engrossment]

2. the act of taking occupancy before someone else does [syn: preoccupation]