Definition of "Precede" :

verb: furnish with a preface or introduction

"She always precedes her lectures with a joke."

verb: move ahead (of others) in time or space

verb: be the predecessor of

"Bill preceded John in the long line of Susan's husbands."

verb: come before

"Most English adjectives precede the noun they modify."

verb: be earlier in time; go back further

"Stone tools precede bronze tools."