| 词组 | precedence |
| 释义 | precedence 1. Precedence is now usually followed by the preposition over: • Henry began by demanding precedence over Francis —Francis Hackett, Henry the Eighth, 1929 • To give organizations precedence over persons is to subordinate ends to means —Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Revisited, 1958 • New exigencies began to take precedence over freedom —New Yorker, 10 Apr. 1971 Although we have no very recent evidence for the combination, precedence has also been used with of: • ... who hated her brother-in-law, and hated, still worse, his dead wife, who, as Queen-Dowager, had taken precedence of her —Edith Sitwell, Fanfare for Elizabeth, 1946 • ... although weapons must in some instances take precedence of exports —Vera Micheles Dean, Harper's, December 1952 2. Precedence, precedent(s). From Vizetelly 1920 to Ebbitt & Ebbitt 1982 and Harper 1985 usage writers have warned against confusing precedence with precedent. Such confusion is only likely among those who pronounce precedence like precedents. The Ebbitts cite a student paper with a sentence beginning "Now that precedence has been set ..." where it was clear that a precedent was the meaning intended. The substitution of a mass noun for a count noun is most peculiar indeed, and the example is not an aberration—we ourselves have a little evidence of its occurrence in print: • ... the United States Supreme Court where great precedence is going to be set —Police, September-October 1967 • If all goes well—and there is no precedence in these latitudes that it will —Saturday Rev., 10 May 1964 Words change their meanings in mysterious ways. We cannot tell if these examples mark the beginning of a genuine change in use or if they are simply isolated errors. Until that uncertainty is resolved, we recommend that you avoid the usage. We do have a single example of precedence used as a count noun. It must be considered a mistake. • ... this incident sets a precedence — Westfield (Mass.) Evening News, 27 Feb. 1985 |
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