preeminence 
Of these pleasures that the body minlsiereth, they gire 
the pre-eminence to health. 
Sir T. More, Utopia (tr. by RobinsonX II. 7. 
Fathers In the ancient world did declare the pre-emi- 
nenre of priority in birth by doubling the worldly portions 
of their tlrst-born. Hooker, Eccles. Polity, T. 81. 
He held it one of theprettiest attitudes of the feminine 
mind to adore a man's preeminence without too precise a 
knowledge of what it consisted in. 
George Eliot, Mlddlemarch, xxvii. 
2f. A prerogative; a privilege; a right; a power. 
They of |the) Church where y Body shalhe buried must 
have the preeminence to goe nearest the Corse within their 
jurisdiction. 
Booke of Precedence (E. E. T. 8., extra ser.), I. 32. 
All these preeminences no gentleman did inioy, but only 
such as were Citizens of Kome. 
Guevara, Letters (tr. by Hellowes, 1677), p. 17. 
I do invest you Jointly with my power, 
Pre-eminence, and all the large effect* 
That troop with majesty. Shale., Lear, 1. 1. 133. 
= Syn. 1. Precedence, etc. See priority. 
preeminency (pre-em'i-nen-si), . [As preemi- 
nence (see -ci/).] Same tis preeminence. 
preeminent (pre-em'i-nent), a. [< OF. precmi- 
nent, P. preeminent = Sp. Pg.preeminente = It. 
preminentr, < LL. pneemineu(t-)s, eminent be- 
fore others, ppr. of prxeminere, project forward, 
surpass, be preeminent, < ii.prif, before, + emi- 
nere, project, be eminent : see eminent.] I. Em- 
inent above others; superior to or surpassing 
others; distinguished; remarkable; conspicu- 
ous, generally for a commendable quality or 
action. 
Tell, if ye saw, how I came thus, how here? 
Not of myself ; by some great Maker then, 
In goodness and in power pre-eminent. 
Milton, P. L., viii. 279. 
2. Superlative; extreme. 
He possessed, as we have said, in a pre-eminent degree, 
the power of reasoning in verse. Macaulay, Dryden. 
preeminently (pre-em'i-uent-li), adv. In a pre- 
eminent manner; with superiority or distinc- 
tion above others; to a preeminent degree; 
especially: as, preeminently wise. 
preemploy (pre-era-ploi'), r. /. [< prc- + em- 
ploy.] To employ previously or before others. 
That false villain 
Whom I employ'd was pre-emptoy'd by him. 
Shak., W. T., ii. 1. 49. 
preempt (pre-empt'), v. [< preempt-ioa, pre- 
empt-or.] I. trans. To secure, as land, by pre- 
emption; establish a claim to; appropriate. 
[U. S.] 
Prospectors from adjoining camps thronged the settle- 
ment; the hillside for a mile on either side of Johnson's 
claim was staked out and preempted. 
Bret llarte, Tales of the Argonauts, p. 39. 
II. intrants. To take up land by preemption. 
[U. 8.] 
As in our own western States, an unscrupulous "colo- 
nist" can often preempt in several places at the same 
time. Science, VI. 318. 
preemptible (pre-emp'ti-bl), . [< preempt + 
-ible.] Open to preemption ; capable of being 
preempted. 
Pre-emptMe land recedes farther into the West. 
y. A. Ret., CXLJI. 54. 
preemption (pre-emp'shqn), n. [= F. preemp- 
tion, < ML. prseemptio(n-'j, a buying before, < L. 
prx, before, + emptio(n-), a buying: see cmp- 
tion.] 1. The act of purchasing before others; 
also, the right of purchasing before others, as 
the right of a settler to a preference in the op- 
portunity to buy laud on or near which he has 
settled, or of an owner of the upland to buy 
lands under water in front of his shore, and, in 
England, the privilege once enjoyed by the 
king of buying provisions for his household at 
an appraisal, or in preference to others. 
The profitable prerogativeof purveyance andpre-emptton 
. . . was a right enjoyed by the crown of buying up pro- 
visions and other necessaries, by the intervention of the 
king's purveyors, for the use of his royal household, at an 
appraised valuation, in preference to all others, and even 
without consent of the owner. Blackstonc, Com., I. viii. 
The pre-emption system was established, though at first 
the pre-emption claimant was stigmatized as a trespasser, 
and repulsed as a criminal. 
T. H. Benton, Thirty Yearn, I. 102. 
2. Specifically, in international law. See the 
quotation. 
The harshness of the doctrine of occasional contraband 
brought into favor the rule of preemption, which was a 
sort of compromise between the belligerents (if masters 
of the sea) :inci the neutrals. The former claimed that 
such articles may be confiscated, the latter th:it they 
Bhould go free. Now, as the belligerent often wanted 
thfsf in-ik-lrs, :iml at least could hurt his enemy by fore- 
stalling them, it came nearest to suiting both parties if, 
when they weiv intercepted on the ocean, the neutral was 
compensated by the payment of the market price and of 
a fair profit. H'uuhey, Introd. to Inter. Law, 182. 
4685 
Clause Of preemption, in Scott law, a clause sometimes 
Inserted In a feu-right, stipulating that if the vassal shall 
be inclined to sell the lands he shall give the superior the 
first offer, or that the superior shall have the lands at a 
certain price fixed in the clause. Preemption Laws 
United states statutes of 1830. 1832, 1833 (4 Slat. 420. ui3. 
), 1838, 1840, and 1M1 (5 Stat. 251, 382. 453. consolidated 
in Rev. SUt. 55 2257-88), which provide for vesting the 
title to parts of the public lands not more than 160 acres 
toone person In such settlers as Inhabit and improve the 
same, upon payment of a nominal price. 
preBmptive (pre-emp'tiv), a. [< preempt + 
-ive.] Pertaining to or of the nature of preemp- 
tion; preempting. 
preemptor (pre-emp'tor), n. [< LL. preeemp- 
tor, one who buys before others, < L. prx, be- 
fore, + emptor, a buyer: see emption.] One 
who preempts; especially, one who takes up 
land with the privilege of preemption. 
preen 1 (pren), . [Also dial, prin ; < ME. pren, 
< AS. pre6n, a pin, brooch, clasp, bodkin (also 
in comp. edr-preon, ear-ring, feax-prcon, hair- 
pin, mentel-preon, cloak-pin), = Icel. prjonn, a 
pin, knitting-needle, = Dan. preen, a bodkin, 
point of a graving-tool, = D. priem = MLG. pren, 
prcne, LG. preem, a pin, spike, awl, = MHG. 
pfriemc, G. pfriein, an awl; cf. ML. dim. pre- 
mula, an awl, appar. from the Teut.; ult. ori- 
gin unknown.] 1. A pin. [Scotch.] 
I tlij nk six pattryng is not worth twa prenit. 
Sir D. Lyndiay, Monarchic. 
My memory 's no worth a preen. 
Burnt, To William Simpson, Postscript. 
2f. A bodkin; a brooch. 
Othre ydeles brogt fro sichem, 
flol prenee and rlnges with hem, 
Diep he is dalf under an ooc. 
Qenesit and Kxodux (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1872. 
3. A forked instrument used by clothiers in 
dressing cloth. 
preen 1 (pren), v. t. [< ME. prenen ; < preen 1 , n.] 
To pin; fasten. [Obsolete or Scotch.] 
Hem lacked a leader the hides to araie, 
Hur 1'rlnce in the forme prese was prened to the erth. 
Alisauiuler oj Macedoine (E. E. T. 3.X 1. 420. 
preen 2 (pren), r. t. [A variant of prune?, 4.] 
1. To prune or trim, as a tree. Hullitrell. 
[I'rov. Eng.] 2. To trim, dress, or fix with the 
beak, as a bird its plumage ; plume. This habit is 
characteristic of birds, especially of water-fowl, the fea- 
thers being oiled with the unctuous substance of the rump- 
gland, as well as set in order. See elirodochon. 
preengage (pre-en-gaj'), r. t. ; pret. and pp. pre- 
engaged, ppr. preSngaging. [< pre- + eni/ayc.] 
1. To engage by previous promise or agree- 
ment. 
To Cipseus by his friends his suit he moved, . . . 
Hut he was pre-enijaged by former ties. 
Dryden, Cym. and Iph., 1. 240. 
2. To engage or attach by previous influence ; 
preoccupy; predispose: as, to preengage one's 
attention. 
The Lacedemonians, says Xenophon, . . . during war, 
put up their petitions very early in the morning, in order 
to be beforehand with their enemies, and, by being the 
first solicitors, pre-engage the gods in their favour. 
Hume, Nat. Hist, of Religion, Iv. 
preengagement (pre-en-gaj'ment), n. [< pre- 
+ engagement.] 1. Prior engagement or agree- 
ment; a contract previously made. 
Where neither . . . duty nor obedience to a lawful au- 
thority, nor the bond of an Inviolable prc-ingagement, call 
you to the bar. Up. Hall, Cases of Conscience, it 7. 
2. A previous attachment ; predisposition. 
Had God but left it to mere reason, without this neces- 
sary pre-ciigagement of our natures it would have been 
a matter of more doubt and difficulty than it is, whether 
this life should be loved and desired. 
Baxter, Dying Thoughts. 
My pre-engagcment* to other themes were not unknown 
to those for whom I was to write. Bmjle. 
preSrect (pre-e-rekf), v. t. [< pre- + erect.] 
To erect beforehand; preestabhsh. Prynne, 
Treachery and Disloyalty, i. 91. 
preest, '' A Middle English form of press 1 . 
preesophageal, praeesophageal (pre-e-so-faj'- 
e-al), a. [< L. prse, before, + NL. atsopnagvs, 
esophagus.] 1. Situated in front of the gullet. 
2. Anterior with reference to the circumeso- 
phageal nerve-collar of an invertebrate. 
Also nretrsophageal , pneftsophayutl. 
preestablish (pre-es-tab'lish), v. t. [< pre- + 
I'xtalilisli.] To establish beforehand; ordain or 
settle previously. 
They elected him for their King with unanimous con- 
-nt. and, calling him unto them, showed him the lawes 
they lr.ul pre-ejtabli*hcd. 
Prynne, Treachery and Disloyalty, p. 77, App. 
Preestabllshed harmony. See harmony. 
preestablishment (i>re-cs-tab'lish-ineiit). . 
The act of pi ei : >t;ililishiiig, or the st;ite of Vicing 
pree'stablished ; M'ttlcim-nt beforehand. 
preface 
pregstival, preaestival (prfi-es'ti-val), . [< 
pre- + estival : see cxtirat.] Occurring before 
midsummer: as, the preetstiral plumage of a 
bird. 
preeternity (pre-e-ter'ni-ti), n. [< pre- + eter- 
nity.] Infinite previous duration; time with- 
out a beginning. 
He scemeth, with Ocellus, to maintain the world's pre- 
eternity. CWtrortA, Intellectual System, p. 3:ix 
preevet, An obsolete form ot proof . 
preevet, c. An obsolete form ot prove. 
preevolutionist (pre-ev-6-lu'shon-ist), a. [< 
pre- + 1 1 (iliilidii + -ist.] Existing or occurring 
before the theory of evolution became current. 
[Rare.] 
Even this code of morals, 1 1 art m. inn thinks, Is a remnant 
of the false, pre-eviilutiimut individualism. 
II . /;. s.,rl.,,, Ethlu of Naturalism, p. 170. 
preezamlnation (pre-eg-zam-i-na'shon). n. 
[<jjrc- + examination.] Previous examination. 
One of the inquisitors . . . would by no means proceed 
any farther without a pre-cxamination of the aforesaid 
(iiovan Uattista. Sir //. Wotton, ReliqulK, p. 309. 
preexamine (pre-eg-zani'in), v. t.; pret. and 
pp. prcejcamiiicd, ppr. preexamininij. [< pre- 
+ examine.] To examine beforehand, 
preexilic (pre-eg-zil'ik), a. [< pre- + exile + 
-ic.] Existing, done, etc., before the exile: 
said chiefly of certain Biblical writings sup- 
posed to have been written before the Jewish 
exile (about 586-537 B.C.). 
Why must the 1st Book [of the Psalms), containing none 
botpre^iilic songs, date from the period after the exile? 
Amer. Jour. I'hilul., I. 859. 
The law In question (of the Nazarlte vow] Is not pre- 
exilic, and is plainly directed to the regulation of a known 
usage. Kitcyc. Brit., XVII. 3U3. 
preexist (pre-eg-zisf), r. '. [= F. preexixter 
= Sp.Pa.preexistirxt It. preexistere ; asjw- + 
exist.] 1. To exist before something else; have 
a prior existence. 
Art prc<-xittg in Nature, and Nature Is reproduced in 
Art. LonyfeUdir, Hyperion, ill. 5. 
The new motion given to the parts of a moving equilib- 
rium by a disturbing force must ... be of such kind 
and amount that it cannot be dissipated before thepre- 
exittinij motions. //. Spencer, First Principles, 9 170. 
2. To exist in a previous state. 
If thy pre-exixtiny soul 
Was form'd at first with myriads more, 
It did through all the mighty poets roll. 
Vryden, Ode to .Mrs. Anne Killigrew, 1. 29. 
preexistence (pre-eg-zis'tens), . [= F. pre- 
exixtcnce = Sp. Pg. preexistencia = It. preexis- 
ten:a ; as prc-cxi.iten(t) + -cc.] 1. Existence 
previous to something else. 
Wisdom declares her antiquity and pre-exiatetice to all 
the works of this earth. T. Burnet, Theory of the Earth. 
2. Existence in a previous state; existence of 
the soul before its union with the body, or be- 
fore the body is formed. Belief in it was a 
doctrine of the Pythagorean school, of Plato, 
and of other philosophers. 
preexistencist (pre-eg-zis'ten-sist), H. [< pre- 
existence + -ist.] One who believes in the doc- 
trine of preexistence. Chamberx's Encyc. See 
preexixtcnce, 2. 
preexistencyt (pre-eg-zis'ten-si), n. Same as 
preexisti nee. 
preexistent (pre-eg-zis'tent), a. [= F. preex- 
istent = Sp. Pg. preexistaite = It. preesistente ; 
as pre- + existent.] Existing beforehand ; pre- 
ceding. 
What mortal knows his prc-critlent state? 
Pope, Dunclad, ill. 48. 
preexistimation (pre-eg-zis-ti-ma'shon), n. 
[(pre- + existimalion.] Previous esteem. 
Let not mere acquests in minor parts of learning gain 
thy pre-exuKmatiun. Sir T. Broirne, Christ. Mor., II. 4. 
preexpectation (pre-eks-pek-ta'shon), . [< 
pre- + expectation.] Previous expectatiou. 
Smart. 
pref. An abbreviation (a) of preface; (b) of 
prefix. 
preface (pref 'as), . [< OF. preface, F. preface 
= Sp. prefacio = Pg. prefacio = It. prefazio, 
< ML. *preefatium, for LL. pnefatum, what is 
said beforehand, a preface (cf. Sp. prefacion = 
Pg. prefacio = It. prtfit:it>m; a preface, < L. 
priefatio(n-), a saying beforehand, a formula of 
words, a preface, introduction). < /irirfatiis, pp. 
of prafari, say beforehand, premise, < pra, be- 
fore, + fart, say, speak : see fate.] 1. A state- 
ment or series of statements introducing a dis- 
course, book, or other composition ; a series of 
preliminary remarks, either written or spoken; 
a prelude. A preface is generally shorter than an intro- 
dnctimi, which contains matter kindred in subject, and 
additional or leading up to what follows; while a preface 
