Priority \Pri*or"i*ty\, n. [Cf. F. priorit['e]. See {Prior}, a.]
   1. The quality or state of being prior or antecedent in time,
      or of preceding something else; as, priority of
      application.
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   2. Precedence; superior rank. --Shak.
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   {Priority of debts}, a superior claim to payment, or a claim
      to payment before others.
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   Syn: Antecedence; precedence; pre["e]minence.
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Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

priority
     n 1: status established in order of importance or urgency;
          "...its precedence as the world's leading manufacturer
          of pharmaceuticals"; "national independence takes
          priority over class struggle" [syn: {precedence}, {precedency}]
     2: preceding in time [syn: {antecedence}, {antecedency}, {anteriority},
         {precedence}, {precedency}] [ant: {posteriority}]
Source: WordNet® 2.0