Antecedence \An`te*ced"ence\, n.
   1. The act or state of going before in time; precedence. --H.
      Spenser.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Astron.) An apparent motion of a planet toward the west;
      retrogradation.
      [1913 Webster]
Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

antecedence
     n : preceding in time [syn: {priority}, {antecedency}, {anteriority},
          {precedence}, {precedency}] [ant: {posteriority}]
Source: WordNet® 2.0