precedingness
|pre-ced-ing-ness|
/prɪˈsiːdɪŋnəs/
state of coming before
Etymology
'precedingness' originates from Modern English, formed by adding the nominalizing suffix '-ness' to the present-participial form 'preceding' (from the verb 'precede'). 'Precede' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'praecedere', where 'prae-' meant 'before' and 'cedere' meant 'to go'.
'Precede' passed into English via Old French/Anglo-Norman forms (e.g. Old French 'preceder') and Middle English 'preceeden/preceden', eventually becoming the modern English verb 'precede'; the formation of 'precedingness' is a later English coinage built from 'precede' + '-ing' + '-ness'.
Initially, the root 'praecedere' simply meant 'to go before'; over time this literal sense broadened into abstract senses of temporal or hierarchical priority, and 'precedingness' developed to name that state or property.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the state or quality of being prior in time or order; the fact of coming before something else.
The precedingness of the initial report made later corrections necessary.
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Noun 2
the property of occurring earlier in a sequence or hierarchy (used in technical contexts, e.g., logic, computing, or grammar to indicate which element comes before another).
In the algorithm, the precedingness of certain operations affects the final result.
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Last updated: 2026/01/09 00:20