precursor

[ pri-kur-ser, pree-kur- ]

noun

1. a person or thing that precedes, as in a job, a method, etc.; predecessor.

   Synonyms: forerunner

2. a person, animal, or thing that goes before and indicates the approach of someone or something else; harbinger:

   The first robin is a precursor of spring.

   Synonyms: herald

3. Chemistry, Biochemistry. a chemical that is transformed into another compound, as in the course of a chemical reaction, and therefore precedes that compound in the synthetic pathway:

   Cholesterol is a precursor of testosterone.

4. Biology. a cell or tissue that gives rise to a variant, specialized, or more mature form.

precursor

/ prɪˈkɜːsə /

noun

1. a person or thing that precedes and shows or announces someone or something to come; harbinger
2. a predecessor or forerunner
3. a chemical substance that gives rise to another more important substance

Word History and Origins

Origin of precursor¹

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin praecursor forerunner. See pre-, cursor

Word History and Origins

Origin of precursor¹

C16: from Latin praecursor one who runs in front, from praecurrere, from prae in front + currere to run

Example Sentences

Not only do they come from myriad sources—asphalt is a big one, but paints and other products also release the precursor compounds to pollutants—but the chemical reactions that create these secondary compounds are also complex.

From Popular-Science

Continuously monitoring these types of carbon dioxide emissions in the Apennines and other seismically active regions, such as California and Japan, could reveal whether uprising gas is a precursor or product of quakes, he says.

From Science News

SAC is also working on ways to verify the self-reported data behind the scores, as a precursor to making some of the data public next year.

From MIT Technology Review

Monkeys’ greater difficulty learning recursive sequences, relative to people, fits a scenario in which “this ability is evolutionarily ancient and could have been a precursor to the development of human grammar,” Ferrigno says.

From Science News

Preserving some of the stylized features of its heavy precursor, the lighter Chalcidian helmet was also imbued with practical design upgrades that allowed its wearer to have better hearing and relatively unimpeded vision.

From Realm of History

That convention, though poorly attended, was the precursor to the Constitutional Convention.

From The Daily Beast

Postol and Lloyd were skeptical; hexamine is a common precursor chemical for military-grade explosives.

From The Daily Beast

It includes a quote from Ehud Olmert, the interim Prime Minister of Israel in 2003, as a precursor to gameplay.

From The Daily Beast

The clearest precursor of this scenario was Helios Airways Flight 522 flying from Cyprus to Athens in August 2005.

From The Daily Beast

Previous drugs targeting amyloid precursor protein, or APP, have failed.

From The Daily Beast

But this by no means exhausts the benefits derived from it, draining being merely the precursor of further improvement.

From Project Gutenberg

At the moment when they disappeared in the forest, the owl uttered its matutinal cry, the precursor of sunrise.

From Project Gutenberg

For this purpose, he said, the "Precursor Society" had been established, and was now in progress of enrolment.

From Project Gutenberg

There was still, however, an under-current of agitation: in fact, the late event was but the precursor to a more furious storm.

From Project Gutenberg

Mr. O'Connell was indefatigable in stirring up his Precursor Society and other similar machines of agitation.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• forerunner
• harbinger