The verb precede has 5 senses (first 4 from tagged texts)
1. (9) predate, precede, forego, forgo, antecede, antedate -- (be earlier in time; go back further; "Stone tools precede bronze tools")
2. (6) precede, predate -- (come before; "Most English adjectives precede the noun they modify")
3. (3) precede, come before -- (be the predecessor of; "Bill preceded John in the long line of Susan's husbands")
4. (1) precede, lead -- (move ahead (of others) in time or space)
5. precede, preface, premise, introduce -- (furnish with a preface or introduction; "She always precedes her lectures with a joke"; "He prefaced his lecture with a critical remark about the institution")