Etymology
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precede (v.)

early 15c., preceden, "lead the way; occur or exist before, go before in order of time," from Old French preceder and directly from Latin praecedere "to go before," from prae "before" (see pre-) + cedere "to go" (from PIE root *ked- "to go, yield"). Meaning "to walk in front of" is late 15c.; that of "to go before in rank or importance" is attested from mid-15c. Related: Preceded; preceding.

Entries linking to precede

pre- 

word-forming element meaning "before," from Old French pre- and Medieval Latin pre-, both from Latin prae (adverb and preposition) "before in time or place," from PIE *peri- (source also of Oscan prai, Umbrian pre, Sanskrit pare "thereupon," Greek parai "at," Gaulish are- "at, before," Lithuanian prie "at," Old Church Slavonic pri "at," Gothic faura, Old English fore "before"), extended form of root *per- (1) "forward," hence "beyond, in front of, before."

The Latin word was active in forming verbs. Also see prae-. Sometimes in Middle English muddled with words in pro- or per-.

*ked- 
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to go, yield."

It forms all or part of: abscess; accede; access; ancestor; antecede; antecedent; cease; cede; cession; concede; decease; exceed; excess; incessant; intercede; necessary; precede; predecessor; proceed; recede; recess; recession; secede; secession; succeed; success.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit sedhati "to drive, chase away;" Avestan apa-had- "turn aside, step aside;" Latin cedere "to yield, give place; to give up some right or property," originally "to go from, proceed, leave;" Old Church Slavonic chodu "a walking, going," choditi "to go."
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Definitions of precede

precede (v.)
be earlier in time; go back further;
Stone tools precede bronze tools
Synonyms: predate / forego / forgo / antecede / antedate
precede (v.)
come before;
Most English adjectives precede the noun they modify
Synonyms: predate
precede (v.)
be the predecessor of;
Bill preceded John in the long line of Susan's husbands
Synonyms: come before
precede (v.)
move ahead (of others) in time or space;
Synonyms: lead
precede (v.)
furnish with a preface or introduction;
She always precedes her lectures with a joke
Synonyms: preface / premise / introduce
From wordnet.princeton.edu

Dictionary entries near precede

precast

precatory

precaution

precautionary

precautious

precede

precedence

precedent

precedented

precent

precentor

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