To cause to be preceded; to preface; to introduce; -- used with by or with before the instrumental object.

furnish with a preface or introduction; "She always precedes her lectures with a joke"; "He prefaced his lecture with a critical remark about the institution"

be the predecessor of; "Bill preceded John in the long line of Susan's husbands"

come before; "Most English adjectives precede the noun they modify"

What follows, succeeds, so what goes before should, what? No, no, no, you are using logic. Nothing confuses English spelling more than common sense. "Succeed" but "precede."

move ahead (of others) in time or space

Material to be printed ahead of copy already set.

be earlier in time; go back further; "Stone tools precede bronze tools"

To go before in place, rank, or importance.

To go before in order of time; to occur first with relation to anything.