Definition of "precedence" []

• The fact, state, or right of preceding; priority: Applications arriving first will receive precedence. (noun)
• Priority claimed or received because of preeminence or superiority: The company asserted its precedence as the leading manufacturer of microchips. (noun)
• A ceremonial order of rank or preference, especially as observed on formal occasions: Recipients of military honors were called in order of precedence—highest ranking officers first. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Nations confront the problematic tension between giving their – people-citizens-however you want to call it – a certain precedence, which is deeply embedded in the very idea of the nation-state however un-P.C. it sounds, while not sacrificing their broader humanity regarding the world."
• "The only time the right-wing nutjobs honor precedence is when their idealogues on the court use it to their favorite flavor of outrage."
• "While the wealthy sportsman was the original English motorist, it was not until Edward VII took up motoring (with relish) that the motorcar began to gain precedence over the horse and carriage with the Marlborough House Set."