'pre-existing' originates from the prefix 'pre-' meaning 'before' and the verb 'exist' from Latin 'existere', where 'ex-' meant 'out' and 'sistere' meant 'to stand'.

'existere' transformed into the Old French word 'exister', and eventually became the modern English word 'exist'.

Initially, it meant 'to stand out or emerge', but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'to have actual being'.