“+ noun
Etymology: pre- + existence
1. : existence in a former state or previous to something else ; specifically : existence of the soul before its union with the body — compare transmigration
2.
a. : existence of Jesus Christ's human soul prior to his physical conception
b. : existence of the Messiah before his first advent
c. : eternal existence of the second person of the Trinity
d. : eternal existence in God of Christ as a rational principle of self-revelation in the cosmos
e. : ideal existence of Christ in the mind and eternal purpose of God