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predecessor

[ pred-uh-ses-er, pred-uh-ses-er or, especially British, pree-duh-ses-er ]
/ ˈprɛd əˌsɛs ər, ˌprɛd əˈsɛs ər or, especially British, ˈpri dəˌsɛs ər /
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See synonyms for: predecessor / predecessors on Thesaurus.com

noun
a person who precedes another in an office, position, etc.
something succeeded or replaced by something else: The new monument in the park is more beautiful than its predecessor.
Archaic. an ancestor; forefather.
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Origin of predecessor

1250–1300; Middle English predecessour<Anglo-French <Late Latin praedēcessor, equivalent to Latin prae-pre- + dēcessor retiring official, itself equivalent to dēced-, variant stem of dēcēdere to withdraw (dē-de- + cēdere to yield; see cede) + -tor-tor, with dt>ss
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use predecessor in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for predecessor

predecessor
/ (ˈpriːdɪˌsɛsə) /

noun
a person who precedes another, as in an office
something that precedes something else
an ancestor; forefather

Word Origin for predecessor

C14: via Old French from Late Latin praedēcessor, from prae before + dēcēdere to go away, from away + cēdere to go
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
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