precedence

\ˈprɛ.sɪ.dəns\

/\ˈprɛ.sɪ.dəns\/ noun

The verdict

“precedence” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Priorité, préséance.

Corpus desk

Index FR-precedence · precedence · French

precedence · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for precedence
PropertyValue
Headwordprecedence
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ˈprɛ.sɪ.dəns\
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « precedence » en français

precedencesiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

precedence is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ˈprɛ.sɪ.dəns\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Priorité, préséance.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for precedence, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is precedence, spelled P-R-E-C-E-D-E-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Priorité, préséance.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how precedence appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. An emergency vehicle has precedence over passenger vehicles.
  2. When a newer Act of Parliament is incompatible with earlier law, it usually takes precedence, under the doctrine of “implied repeal”.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "precedence"?
"precedence" is spelled P-R-E-C-E-D-E-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈprɛ.sɪ.dəns\.
What does "precedence" mean?
As a noun, "precedence" means: Priorité, préséance.
How do you pronounce "precedence"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "precedence" is \ˈprɛ.sɪ.dəns\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "precedence" come from?
"precedence" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list