precede, predate -- (come before; "Most English adjectives precede the noun they modify")
precede, come before -- (be the predecessor of; "Bill preceded John in the long line of Susan's husbands")
precede, lead -- (move ahead (of others) in time or space)
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")