Wordnet 3.0
NOUN (1)
1.
existing in a former state or previous to something else;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Preexistence \Pre`["e]x*ist"ence\, n.
1. Existence in a former state, or previous to something
else.
[1913 Webster]
Wisdom declares her antiquity and pre["e]xistence to
all the works of this earth. --T. Burnet.
[1913 Webster]
2. Existence of the soul before its union with the body; -- a
doctrine held by certain philosophers. --Addison.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
preexistence
n 1: existing in a former state or previous to something else
The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):
PRE-EXISTENCE, n. An unnoted factor in creation.