antecessor
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of antecessor
1375–1425; late Middle English antecessour (< Middle French ) < Latin antecessor he who goes before, a predecessor, equivalent to anteced-, variant stem of antecēdere ( see antecede) + -tor -tor; cf. ancestor
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These include remains assigned to Homo erectus as well as Homo antecessor, a distinct species, with both dated to around one million years ago.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 16, 2025
Patterns of bone-breakage in Homo antecessor, considered the last common ancestor of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, suggest that cannibalism goes back a half-million years or more.
From New York Times ● Jul. 1, 2023
They said it’s possible the items were produced by Homo antecessor, the hominin species dating from that period in other parts of Europe.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 2, 2023
He notes the analysis by Hublin and his colleagues did not compare the Jebel Irhoud remains with fossils from Spain dating to more than 800,000 years ago that belong to a species called H. antecessor.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 8, 2017
His very grave is disputed—a dispossessed antecessor claims the ground as his own, and the dead body of the Conqueror has to wait while its last resting-place is bought with money.
From William the Conqueror by Freeman, Edward Augustus
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
