— preexistence , n. — preexistent , adj.
/pree'ig zist"/ , v.i.
1. to exist beforehand.
2. to exist in a previous state.
v.t.
3. to exist prior to (something or someone else); precede: primitive artifacts that preexisted sophisticated tools.
Also, pre-exist .
[ 1590-1600; PRE- + EXIST ]