Link Centre Dictionary

antecedent

an·te·ce·dent

UK/ˌæntɪˈsiːdənt/ US/ˌæntɪˈsidʌnt/ uncommon
noun (4) adjective (1)

noun

1.

someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)

Synonyms
Antonyms
2.
3.

anything that precedes something similar in time

  • “phrenology was an antecedent of modern neuroscience”
Synonyms
4.

the referent of an anaphor; a phrase or clause that is referred to by an anaphoric pronoun

adjective

1.

Origin

From Middle English antecedent, borrowed from Old French antecedent, from Latin antecēdēns (“going before”), from antecēdō (“to precede; excel; surpass”).

Phrases

  • antecedent phrase
  • last antecedent rule

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

See also

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.