Prior date; a date antecedent to another which is the actual date.
source: Webster 1913
verb
be earlier in time; go back further
Stone tools precede bronze tools.
source: WordNet 3.0
establish something as being earlier relative to something else
source: WordNet 3.0
To date before the true time; to assign to an earlier date; thus, to antedate a deed or a bond is to give it a date anterior to the true time of its execution.
