"precedence" in the noun sense
1. precedence, precedency, priority
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"
2. priority, antecedence, antecedency, anteriority, precedence, precedency
preceding in time
3. precession, precedence, precedency
the act of preceding in time or order or rank (as in a ceremony)
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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