antecedent

American  

[an-tuh-seed-nt] / ˌæn təˈsid nt /

adjective

1. preceding; prior.

   an antecedent event.

   Synonyms:

   preexistent, precursory

   Antonyms:

   subsequent

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noun

antecedents plural

1. a preceding circumstance, event, object, style, phenomenon, etc.

   Synonyms:

   ancestor, forerunner, precursor

   Antonyms:

   successor

2. antecedents,

   1. ancestors.

   2. the history, events, characteristics, etc., of one's earlier life.

      Little is known about his birth and antecedents.

3. Grammar. a word, phrase, or clause, usually a substantive, that is replaced by a pronoun or other substitute later, or occasionally earlier, in the same or in another, usually subsequent, sentence. In Jane lost a glove and she can't find it, Jane is the antecedent of she and glove is the antecedent of it.

4. Mathematics.

   1. the first term of a ratio; the first or third term of a proportion.

   2. the first of two vectors in a dyad.

5. Logic. the conditional element in a proposition, as “Caesar conquered Gaul,” in “If Caesar conquered Gaul, he was a great general.”

antecedent British  

/ ˌæntɪˈsiːdənt /

noun

1. an event, circumstance, etc, that happens before another

2. grammar a word or phrase to which a pronoun refers. In the sentence "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones," people is the antecedent of who

3. logic the hypothetical clause, usually introduced by "if", in a conditional statement: that which implies the other

4. maths an obsolescent name for numerator

5. logic the fallacy of inferring the falsehood of the consequent of a conditional statement, given the truth of the conditional and the falsehood of its antecedent, as if there are five of them, there are more than four: there are not five, so there are not more than four

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adjective

1. preceding in time or order; prior

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antecedental
  adjective
• antecedently
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• antecedents
  plural

Etymology

Origin of antecedent

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin antecēdent-, stem of antecēdēns “going before,” present participle of antecēdere “to go before, precede, excel, surpass”; see antecede

Explanation

An antecedent is a thing that comes before something else. You might think rap music has no historical antecedent, but earlier forms of African-American spoken verse go back for centuries. In logic, mathematics, and grammar, the word antecedent (from Latin ante-, "before" + cedere, "to yield") has the meaning "the first part of a statement." More generally, it means "something that came before, and perhaps caused, something else." The word is also an adjective: a lawyer or judge might talk about the "antecedent events" leading up to someone committing a crime.

Example Sentences

Unclear Antecedent In Smith’s essay, she explains why many American families have less money saved and more debt than families in the 1970s.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

Clear Antecedent All nine members of the school board voted in favor of changing the district’s mascot.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

Where the Sex, though specified, is overlooked as of small importance, the Personal or Possessive Pronouns follow the Gender of the Antecedent.

From Elements of Gaelic Grammar by Stewart, Alexander

The mind deduced from its first experiences the notion of a general Cause or Antecedent, to which it shortly gave a name and personified it.

From Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry by Pike, Albert

Antecedent to all the movements noticed in the preceding chapter, Great Britain had foreseen the coming increased demand for tropical products.

From Cotton is King, and Pro-Slavery Arguments Comprising the Writings of Hammond, Harper, Christy, Stringfellow, Hodge, Bledsoe, and Cartrwright on This Important Subject by Elliott, E. N.