antecedent
[ an-tuh-seed-nt ]
/ ˌæn təˈsid nt /
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.”
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Nearby words
anteater, antebellum, antecede, antecedence, antecedency, antecedent, antecedents, antecessor, antechamber, antechapel, antechoir
Origin of antecedent
SYNONYMS FOR antecedent
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
British Dictionary definitions for antecedent
antecedent
/ (ˌæntɪˈsiːdənt) /
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
See also antecedents
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for antecedent
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for antecedent
antecedent
[ ăn′tĭ-sēd′nt ]
n.
A precursor.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.