Preestablished

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Existing or arranged beforehand; fixed or decided in advance; already set up or agreed upon prior to current consideration
2. Something determined or formulated ahead of time; previously planned or instituted; established before the present situation arises
3. Describes conditions or rules made ahead of an event; settled in advance; prearranged or predefined before being applied or enacted

Etymology: "Preestablished" is simply "pre-" attached to "established," meaning set up or settled beforehand. The "pre-" prefix comes from Latin "prae," meaning "before," and it was combined with "establish," which entered English from Old French "establiss-," the stem of "establir," itself from Latin "stabilire," meaning "to make firm." So the core idea is making something stable, and the prefix adds the sense of having done it in advance. The word is most familiar in philosophy and theology, where "preestablished harmony" describes the doctrine of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who argued that God had arranged the universe so that independent substances (his "monads") would move in step without interacting. Leibniz's term gave the adjective much of its weight: a thing "preestablished" is not merely early but fixed by a prior decision, a sense that carries into everyday uses such as preestablished rules or procedures.

Synonyms: predetermined, prearranged, predefined, preset, preconceived

Antonyms: spontaneous, unplanned, improvised, unestablished, unarranged