antedate

[verb an-ti-deyt, an-ti-deyt; noun an-ti-deyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR antedate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), an·te·dat·ed, an·te·dat·ing.

to be of older date than; precede in time: The Peruvian empire antedates the Mexican empire.

predate(def 1).

to assign to an earlier date: to antedate a historical event.

to cause to return to an earlier time: to antedate one's thoughts by remembering past events.

to cause to happen sooner; accelerate: The cold weather antedated their departure from the country.

Archaic. to take or have in advance; anticipate.

noun

a prior date.

Origin of antedate

1570–80; earlier antidate < Middle French antidater, derivative of antidate a date earlier than the true date (by association with anté- ante-), originally a date put in place of another date; see ante-, date¹

Can be confusedanecdote antedate antidoteantedate predate postdate

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

Related Words for antedate

predate, pace, accelerate, precede, antecede, backdate, misdate, forerun

Examples from the Web for antedate

Historical Examples of antedate

These figures are, however, unreliable, and antedate the Russian Revolution.
The Pacific Triangle
Sydney Greenbie
This would make them antedate July, 1759, which is not true of the bakehouse.
Old Trails on the Niagara Frontier
Frank H. Severance
So does the species of animal or plant outlast and antedate the lifetime of one man.
The Arena
Various
The actual beginnings of the town may antedate the Romans, but of this we know nothing.
Seaward Sussex
Edric Holmes
Here again Pitt's hopeful nature led him to antedate the course of events.
William Pitt and the Great War
John Holland Rose

British Dictionary definitions for antedate

antedate

verb (ˈæntɪˌdeɪt, ˌæntɪˈdeɪt) (tr)

to be or occur at an earlier date than

to affix a date to (a document, etc) that is earlier than the actual date

to assign a date to (an event, etc) that is earlier than its previously assigned date

to cause to occur sooner

noun (ˈæntɪˌdeɪt)

an earlier date

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 antedate

1580s, earlier as noun meaning "a backdating, false early date attached to a document or event" (1570s); from Latin ante "before" (see ante) + date (v.1). Related: Antedated; antedating.