— antecedental /an'teuh see den"tl/ , adj. — antecedently , adv.
/an'teuh seed"nt/ , adj.
1. preceding; prior: an antecedent event.
n.
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. Gram. 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. Math.
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."
[ 1350-1400; ME ( antecedent- (s. of antecedens ) going before, prp. of antecedere to ANTECEDE; see -ENT ]
Syn. 1. precursory, preexistent. 2. precursor, forerunner, ancestor.
Ant. 1. subsequent. 2. successor.