Preceding

a.	1.	Going before; - opposed to following.
	2.	(Astron.) In the direction toward which stars appear to move. See Following, 2.

Adj.	1.	preceding - existing or coming before Antonyms: succeeding - coming after or following
	2.	preceding - preceding in time or order Synonyms: antecedent
	3.	preceding - of a person who has held and relinquished a position or office; "a retiring member of the board" Synonyms: past, retiring

above, advanced, aforegoing, aforementioned, ante, antecedence, antecedency, antecedent, anteposition, anterior, anteriority, anticipatory, avant-garde, chief, ci-devant, dominion, earlier, early, elder, ere, erstwhile, exordial, exploratory, first, fore, foregoing, foremost, former, front, front position, heading, headmost, heretofore, hitherto, in, inaugural, initiatory, last, latter, le pas, leading, older, original, other, past, precedence, precedency, precedent, precession, precessional, precurrent, precursive, precursor, precursory, preexistent, prefatory, preference, prefixation, preliminary, prelude, preludial, prelusive, preparatory, prevenient, previous, prime, prior, priority, proemial, propaedeutic, prothesis, senior, superiority, the lead, to, top priority, urgency, van