Definitions of precede:

• verb:   be the predecessor of

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

• verb:   come before

  Example: "Most English adjectives precede the noun they modify"

• verb:   furnish with a preface or introduction

  Example: "She always precedes her lectures with a joke"

• verb:   move ahead (of others) in time or space
• verb:   be earlier in time; go back further

  Example: "Stone tools precede bronze tools"