noun one who precedes or goes in front.
2. antecedent ·adj presumptive; as, an antecedent improbability.
3. antecedent ·noun that which goes before in time; that which precedes.
4. antecedent ·noun the earlier events of one's life; previous principles, conduct, course, history.
5. antecedent ·noun the first or conditional part of a hypothetical proposition; as, if the earth is fixed, the sun must move.
6. antecedent ·adj going before in time; prior; anterior; preceding; as, an event antecedent to the deluge; an antecedent cause.
7. antecedent ·noun the noun to which a relative refers; as, in the sentence "solomon was the prince who built the temple," prince is the antecedent of who.
8. antecedent ·noun the first of the two propositions which constitute an enthymeme or contracted syllogism; as, every man is mortal; therefore the king must die.
9. antecedent ·noun the first of the two terms of a ratio; the first or third of the four terms of a proportion. in the ratio a:b, a is the antecedent, and b the consequent.