Antecedent - Definition
antecedent
adj 1: preceding in time or order [ant: subsequent]
n 1: someone from whom you are descended (but usually more
remote than a grandparent) [syn: ancestor, ascendant,
ascendent, antecedent, root] [ant: descendant,
descendent]
2: a preceding occurrence or cause or event
3: anything that precedes something similar in time; "phrenology
was an antecedent of modern neuroscience" [syn: antecedent,
forerunner]
4: the referent of an anaphor; a phrase or clause that is
referred to by an anaphoric pronoun