Noah Webster
Pre-eminence
PRE-EM'INENCE, noun
1. Superiority in excellence; distinction in something commendable; as pre-eminence in honor or virtue; pre-eminence in eloquence, in legal attainments or in medical skill.
The preeminence of christianity to any other religious scheme--
2. Precedence; priority of place; superiority in rank or dignity.
That in all things he might have the preeminence. Colossians 1:1.
Painful preeminence! yourself to view
Above life's weakness and its comforts too.
3. Superiority of power or influence.
4. Sometimes in a bad sense; as pre-eminence in guilt or crime.