preexist

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pre·ex·ist

(prē′ĭg-zĭst′)

v. pre·ex·ist·ed, pre·ex·ist·ing, pre·ex·ists

v.tr.

To exist before (something); precede: Dinosaurs preexisted humans.

v.intr.

To exist beforehand.

pre′ex·is′tence n.

pre′ex·is′tent adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

pre•ex•ist

or pre-ex•ist

(ˌpri ɪgˈzɪst)

v.i.

1. to exist beforehand.

v.t.

2. to antedate; precede.

[1590–1600]

pre`ex•ist′ence, n.

pre`ex•ist′ent, adj.

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Verb

preexist - exist beforehand or prior to a certain point in time; "Did this condition pre-exist?"

exist, be - have an existence, be extant; "Is there a God?"

Translations

preesistere

References in classic literature ?

But the thought is always prior to the fact; all the facts of history preexist in the mind as laws.

In the man, could we lay him open, we should see the reason for the last flourish and tendril of his work; as every spine and tint in the sea-shell preexists in the secreting organs of the fish.

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Yet its moral element preexisted in the actor, and its quality as right or wrong it was easy to predict.