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antecedent

 - 4 dictionary results

an⋅te⋅ced⋅ent

  [an-tuh-seed-nt]
Use antecedent in a Sentence
–adjective
1. preceding; prior: an antecedent event.
–noun
2. a preceding circumstance, event, object, style, phenomenon, etc.
3. antecedents,
a. ancestors.
b. the history, events, characteristics, etc., of one's earlier life: Little is known about his birth and antecedents.
4. 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.
5. Mathematics.
a. the first term of a ratio; the first or third term of a proportion.
b. the first of two vectors in a dyad.
6. Logic. the conditional element in a proposition, as “Caesar conquered Gaul,” in “If Caesar conquered Gaul, he was a great general.”
Origin:
1350–1400; ME (< MF) < L antecēdent- (s. of antecēdēns) going before, prp. of antecēdere to antecede; see -ent

Related forms:
an⋅te⋅ce⋅den⋅tal  [an-tuh-see-den-tl] , adjective
an⋅te⋅ced⋅ent⋅ly, adverb

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

Antonyms:
1. subsequent. 2. successor.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To antecedent
an·te·ce·dent   (ān'tĭ-sēd'nt)   
adj.  Going before; preceding.
n.  

  1. One that precedes another.

    1. A preceding occurrence, cause, or event. See Synonyms at cause.

    2. antecedents The important events and occurrences in one's early life.

  3. antecedents One's ancestors.

  4. Grammar The word, phrase, or clause that determines what a pronoun refers to, as the children in The teacher asked the children where they were going.

  5. Mathematics The first term of a ratio.

  6. Logic The conditional member of a hypothetical proposition.

an'te·ce'dent·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: an·te·ce·dent
Pronunciation: "an-t&-'sEd-&nt
Function: adjective
: earlier in time or order
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

antecedent an·te·ce·dent (ān'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.
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