an·te·ce·dent

(ăn′tĭ-sēd′nt)

adj.

Going before; preceding.

1. One that precedes another.

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

b. 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.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

antecedent

(ˌæntɪˈsiːdənt)

1. an event, circumstance, etc, that happens before another

2. (Grammar) grammar a word or phrase to which a pronoun refers. In the sentence "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones," people is the antecedent of who

3. (Logic) logic the hypothetical clause, usually introduced by "if", in a conditional statement: that which implies the other

4. (Mathematics) maths an obsolescent name for numerator¹

5. (Logic) denying the antecedent logic the fallacy of inferring the falsehood of the consequent of a conditional statement, given the truth of the conditional and the falsehood of its antecedent, as if there are five of them, there are more than four: there are not five, so there are not more than four

adj

preceding in time or order; prior

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

an•te•ced•ent

(ˌæn təˈsid nt)

adj.

1. preceding; prior: an antecedent event.

2. a preceding circumstance, event, object, phenomenon, etc.; precursor.

3. antecedents,

a. ancestors.

b. the history, events, conditions, etc., of one's earlier life.

4. a word, phrase, or clause, usu. a substantive, that is replaced, usu. later, by a pronoun or other substitute, as Jane and glove in Jane lost a glove and she can't find 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. the conditional element in a proposition introduced by “if.” Compare consequent (def. 5).

[1350–1400; Middle English (< Middle French) < Latin antecēdent-, s. of antecēdēns, present participle of antecēdere to antecede]

an`te•ced′en•cy, adv.

an•te•ce•den•tal (ˌæn tə siˈdɛn tl) adj.

an`te•ced′ent•ly, adv.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	antecedent - someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent) ancestor, ascendant, ascendent, root ancestress - a woman ancestor forbear, forebear - a person from whom you are descended forefather, sire, father - the founder of a family; "keep the faith of our forefathers" foremother - a woman ancestor primogenitor, progenitor - an ancestor in the direct line relative, relation - a person related by blood or marriage; "police are searching for relatives of the deceased"; "he has distant relations back in New Jersey"
	2.	antecedent - a preceding occurrence or cause or event cause - events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something; "they are trying to determine the cause of the crash"
	3.	antecedent - anything that precedes something similar in time; "phrenology was an antecedent of modern neuroscience" forerunner temporal relation - a relation involving time
	4.	antecedent - the referent of an anaphor; a phrase or clause that is referred to by an anaphoric pronoun referent - something referred to; the object of a reference
Adj.	1.	antecedent - preceding in time or order preceding - existing or coming before subsequent - following in time or order; "subsequent developments"

antecedent

adjective

1. preceding, earlier, former, previous, prior, preliminary, foregoing, anterior, precursory They were allowed to take account of antecedent legislation.
preceding later, following, succeeding, subsequent, successive, ensuing, consequent, after, posterior

plural noun

1. ancestors, family, line, stock, blood, descent, extraction, ancestry, forebears, forefathers, genealogy, progenitors a Frenchman with Irish antecedents

2. past, history, background a series of conditions or antecedents which may have contributed to the situation

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

antecedent

adjective

1. Going before:

advance, anterior, earlier, precedent, preceding, previous, prior.

2. Just gone by or elapsed:

anterior, earlier, foregoing, former, past, precedent, preceding, previous, prior.

noun

1. One that precedes, as in time:

ancestor, forerunner, precursor, predecessor, progenitor.

2. That which produces an effect:

cause, occasion.

3. A person from whom one is descended:

ancestor, ascendant, father, forebear, forefather, foremother, mother, parent, progenitor.

Archaic: predecessor.

Translations

antecedente

antécédent précédent

antecedente

antecedent

[ˌæntɪˈsiːdənt]

A. N → antecedente m antecedents (= past history) → antecedentes mpl; (= ancestors) → antepasados mpl

B. ADJ → precedente, que precede (to a)

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

antecedent

[ˌæntiˈsiːd^ənt] n → antécédent m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

antecedent

adj → früher; the crisis and its antecedent events → die Krise und die ihr vorangehenden or vorausgehenden Ereignisse; to be antecedent to something → einer Sache (dat) → voran- or vorausgehen

antecedents (of person, = past history) → Vorleben nt; (= ancestry) → Abstammung f; (of event) → Vorgeschichte f

(Gram) → Bezugswort nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

antecedent

[ˌæntɪˈsiːd/ənt] n → antecedente m, precedente m antecedents npl (past history) → antecedenti, precedenti; (ancestors) → antenati mpl

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Cause, in the only sense in which it can be practically applied, means "nearly invariable antecedent." We cannot in practice obtain an antecedent which is QUITE invariable, for this would require us to take account of the whole universe, since something not taken account of may prevent the expected effect.

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In this, therefore, I think we are agreed; but that this honour can be said to be founded on religion, to which it is antecedent, if by religion be meant any positive law--"

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The 'Deus ex Machina' should be employed only for events external to the drama,--for antecedent or subsequent events, which lie beyond the range of human knowledge, and which require to be reported or foretold; for to the gods we ascribe the power of seeing all things.

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Formerly it must have swarmed with great monsters: now we find mere pigmies, compared with the antecedent, allied races.

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The Antecedent Action is that part of the characters' experiences which precedes the events of the story.

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And where Ahab's chances of accomplishing his object have hitherto been spoken of, allusion has only been made to whatever way-side, antecedent, extra prospects were his, ere a particular set time or place were attained, when all possibilities would become probabilities, and, as Ahab fondly thought, every possibility the next thing to a certainty.

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These contain an internal evidence which, antecedent to all reflection or combination, commands the assent of the mind.

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They must have borne in mind, that as the plan to be framed and proposed was to be submitted TO THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES, the disapprobation of this supreme authority would destroy it forever; its approbation blot out antecedent errors and irregularities.

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Look at the other class of pleasures which have no antecedent pains and you will no longer suppose, as you perhaps may at present, that pleasure is only the cessation of pain, or pain of pleasure.

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By discarding a claim to knowledge of the ultimate purpose, we shall clearly perceive that just as one cannot imagine a blossom or seed for any single plant better suited to it than those it produces, so it is impossible to imagine any two people more completely adapted down to the smallest detail for the purpose they had to fulfill, than Napoleon and Alexander with all their antecedents.

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Square offspring has sometimes resulted from a slightly Irregular Triangle; but in almost every such case the Irregularity of the first generation is visited on the third; which either fails to attain the Pentagonal rank, or relapses to the Triangular.] Such a birth requires, as its antecedents, not only a series of carefully arranged intermarriages, but also a long, continued exercise of frugality and self-control on the part of the would-be ancestors of the coming Equilateral, and a patient, systematic, and continuous development of the Isosceles intellect through many generations.

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Bwana, as she insisted upon calling her benefactor, dissuaded her from making the attempt at once by dispatching a head man with a party of blacks to Kovudoo's village with instructions to learn from the old savage how he came into possession of the white girl and as much of her antecedents as might be culled from the black chieftain.

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