- pre-emption (n.)
- also preemption, c. 1600, literally "the right of purchasing before others," from pre- "before" + emption.
- pre-emptive (adj.)
- also preemptive, 1806, "pertaining to preemption;" from pre-emption + -ive. Specifically of an attack on an enemy who is plotting his own attack, 1958, a term from the Cold War. Related: Pre-emptively; preemptively.