English Explanatory Dictionary

antecedent

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Earlier, either in time or in order.
  2. Presumptive.
noun
  1. Any thing that precedes another thing, especially the cause of the second thing.
  2. An ancestor.
  3. A word, phrase or clause referred to by a pronoun or other pro-form.
  4. The conditional part of a hypothetical proposition, i.e. p→q, where p is the antecedent, and q is the consequent.
  5. The first of two subsets of a sequent, consisting of all the sequent's formulae which are valuated as true.
  6. The first term of a ratio, i.e. the term a in the ratio a:b, the other being the consequent.
  7. Previous principles, conduct, history, etc.

Pronunciation

/ˌæntɪˈsiːdənt/ En-ca-antecedent.oga LL-Q7979-Soundguys-antecedent.wav

Word forms

antecedent antecedents

Etymology

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

Synonyms

precedent predecessive preceding precursor ascendant ascendent forebear forefather forerunner predecessor progenitor

Antonyms

successive consequent succedent anaphor

Related words

antecede antecedence precedence juxtaposition

Derived words

antecedently antecedent phrase last antecedent rule
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on A Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary