precede

Everyday

(formal) To come or go before something in time, order or place. tree →

In the lessons

In maths it helps with order: in a number line, 4 precedes 5; the number that precedes 10 is 9. In grammar, an article precedes a noun. In history and exam questions, «the events that preceded the war» means what happened first. Phrases: the preceding page, preceded by.

Examples

• Lightning precedes thunder. tree →
• In the alphabet, A precedes B. tree →
• The number that precedes 100 is 99. tree →
• The main show was preceded by a short film. tree →
• Read the preceding paragraph again. tree →
• A short silence preceded the cheers. tree →
• She became united to Erebus, and their children were Aether and Hemera (Air and Daylight), evidently a simile of the poets, to indicate that darkness always precedes light. tree →

Note

Do not confuse with proceed (go on). Precede = come before; proceed = continue. The noun is precedence. In maths problems, «precedes» means one less (or earlier) in a counting order.

In Jewish tradition

Interpretation: In Sefer Yetzirah's readers, the question of what came first (nothing, the Zero, voice, air or speech) shows how the tradition thinks about the order of creation. In the primary lessons: In maths it helps with order: in a number line, 4 precedes 5; the number that precedes 10 is 9. In grammar, an article precedes a noun. In history and exam questions, «the events that preceded the war» means what happened first. Phrases: the preceding page, preceded by.

Examples

• Ain precedes Ain Suph, boundlessness; and Ain Suph Aur, Boundless Light. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
• Some believed that the Zero, 0 preceded the One, 1. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →
• It holds that chaos was not even the first thing created, but was preceded by voice, air, and speech-"). (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →

Note

Do not confuse with proceed (go on). Precede = come before; proceed = continue. The noun is precedence. In maths problems, «precedes» means one less (or earlier) in a counting order.