preemption

Meaning

Noun

• The purchase of something before it is offered for sale to others.
• The purchase of public land by the occupant.
• The temporary interruption of a task without its cooperation and with the intention of resuming it at a later time.
• The displacement of a lower jurisdiction's laws when they conflict with those of a higher jurisdiction.

Origin

• From Medieval Latin praeēmptiō, from praeemō, from Latin prae- + emō.