The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Preeminence \Pre*["e]m"i*nence\, n. [F. pr['e]['e]minence, L.
   praeeminentia. See Pre["e]minent.]
   The quality or state of being pre["e]minent; superiority in
   prominence or in excellence; distinction above others in
   quality, rank, etc.; rarely, in a bad sense, superiority or
   notoriety in evil; as, pre["e]minence in honor.
   [1913 Webster]

         The pre["e]minence of Christianity to any other
         religious scheme.                        --Addison.
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         Painful pre["e]minence! yourself to view
         Above life's weakness, and its comforts too. --Pope.
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         Beneath the forehead's walled pre["e]minence. --Lowell.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

preeminence
    n 1: high status importance owing to marked superiority; "a
         scholar of great eminence" [syn: eminence, distinction,
         preeminence, note]