antecedent

[an-tuh-seed-nt]

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adjective

preceding; prior: an antecedent event.

noun

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

antecedents,

ancestors.
the history, events, characteristics, etc., of one's earlier life: Little is known about his birth and antecedents.

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.

Mathematics.

the first term of a ratio; the first or third term of a proportion.
the first of two vectors in a dyad.

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

Nearby words

Origin of antecedent

1350–1400; Middle English (< Middle French) < Latin antecēdent- (stem of antecēdēns) going before, present participle of antecēdere to antecede; see -ent

SYNONYMS FOR antecedent

1. precursory, preexistent. 2. precursor, forerunner, ancestor.

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ANTONYMS FOR antecedent

1. subsequent. 2. successor.

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Related formsan·te·ce·den·tal

[an-tuh-see-den-tl] /ˌæn tə siˈdɛn tl/, adjectivean·te·ced·ent·ly, adverb

Can be confusedantecedence antecedents

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for antecedent

Even online chat rooms have an antecedent in the exchanges of nineteenth-century American telegraph operators.
Social Media is So Old Even the Romans Had It|Nick Romeo|October 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The quarrel had been antecedent to Margaret going to Brent's Rock.
Dracula's Guest|Bram Stoker
When there are two words in a clause, each capable of being an antecedent, the relative refers to the latter.
A Handbook of the English Language|Robert Gordon Latham
It is a circumstance, this court favor, worth considering in the poet's life, as the antecedent to his manifold spirit of piety.
Gifts of Genius|Various

Whether two changes are coexistent or are successive, each must be conceived as possessing an antecedent cause.
A Commentary to Kant's 'Critique of Pure Reason'|Norman Kemp Smith
But it all belongs to the antecedent history of the social movement, because there was no definite aim before the proletariat.
Socialism and the Social Movement in the 19th Century|Werner Sombart

British Dictionary definitions for antecedent

antecedent

noun

an event, circumstance, etc, that happens before another

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

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

maths an obsolescent name for numerator (def. 1)

denying the antecedent 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

adjective

preceding in time or order; prior

antecedent

late 14c. (n. and adj.), from Old French antecedent (14c.) or directly from Latin antecedentem (nominative antecedens), present participle of antecedere "go before, precede," from ante- "before" (see ante) + cedere "to yield" (see cede). Used as a noun in Latin philosophical writings.

Medicine definitions for antecedent

antecedent

[ăn′tĭ-sēd′nt]

n.

A precursor.

antecedent

adjective

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of antecedent

Examples from the Web for antecedent

antecedent

noun

adjective

antecedent

antecedent

n.