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6 dictionary results for: anterior

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

an·te·ri·or

[an-teer-ee-er] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

1.	situated before or at the front of; fore (opposed to posterior).

2.	going before in time or sequence; preceding; earlier: events anterior to the outbreak of war.

3.	Linguistics. (in distinctive feature analysis) articulated in the region extending from the alveolar ridge to the lips; alveolar, dental, or labial.

4.	(in animals and embryos) pertaining to or toward the head or forward end of the body.

5.	(in humans) pertaining to or toward the front plane of the body, equivalent to the ventral surface of quadrupeds.

6.	Botany. on the front side and away from the main axis, as the lower lip of a flower.

[Origin: 1535–45; < L, comp. of ante before, formed on model of posterior

]

—Related forms

an·te·ri·or·i·ty

[an-teer-ee-awr-i-tee, -or-] Pronunciation Key, noun

an·te·ri·or·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

an·te·ri·or (ān-tîr'ē-ər) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Placed before or in front.
Occurring before in time; earlier.
Anatomy
1. Located near or toward the head in lower animals.
2. Located on or near the front of the body in higher animals.
3. Located on or near the front of an organ or on the ventral surface of the body in humans.
Botany In front of and facing away from the axis or stem.

[Latin, comparative of ante, before; see ant- in Indo-European roots.]

an·te'ri·or'i·ty (-ôr'ĭ-tē, -ŏr'-) n., an·te'ri·or·ly adv.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
anterior

1611, from L., lit. "former," comp. of ante "before" (see ante).

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

anterior
adjective
1.	of or near the head end or toward the front plane of a body [ant: posterior]
2.	earlier in time
noun
1.	a tooth situated at the front of the mouth; "his malocclusion was caused by malposed anteriors" [syn: front tooth]

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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

anterior an·te·ri·or (ān-tēr'ē-ər)
adj.

Placed before or in front.
Occurring before in time; earlier.
Of or relating to the front surface of the body, especially of the position of one structure relative to another; ventral.
Near the head or rostral end of certain embryos.

n.
The front surface of the body.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Anterior

An*te"ri*or\, a. [L. anterior, comp. of ante before.]

1. Before in time; antecedent.

Antigonus, who was anterior to Polybius. --Sir G. C. Lewis.

2. Before, or toward the front, in place; as, the anterior part of the mouth; -- opposed to posterior.

Note: In comparative anatomy, anterior often signifies at or toward the head, cephalic; and in human anatomy it is often used for ventral.

Syn: Antecedent; previous; precedent; preceding; former; foregoing.

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