The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Priority \Pri*or"i*ty\, n. [Cf. F. priorit['e]. See Prior, a.]
   1. The quality or state of being prior or antecedent in time,
      or of preceding something else; as, priority of
      application.
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   2. Precedence; superior rank. --Shak.
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   Priority of debts, a superior claim to payment, or a claim
      to payment before others.
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   Syn: Antecedence; precedence; pre["e]minence.
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