preceding
v.v. coming before something else in time, order, or position. You use this to talk about the thing that happened just before the current one.
v. coming before in time, order, or rank; previous. Often used to refer to a specific section of text or a period of time immediately prior to the one under discussion.
The preceding chapter explains the history of the city.
The data from the preceding year suggests that sales will continue to rise throughout the winter.
While the current administration has introduced several reforms, many of the underlying economic issues were inherited from the preceding decade of stagnation.
From Middle English precedyng, precedenge, present participle of Middle English preceden (“to precede”), equivalent to precede + -ing.
Typically placed before the noun it modifies. Frequently used in formal writing to reference earlier parts of a document.