Antecedent : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: Antecedent	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for Antecedent
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
antecedent adj preceding in time or order Antonym(s): subsequent n someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent) Synonym(s): ancestor, ascendant, ascendent, antecedent, root Antonym(s): descendant, descendent a preceding occurrence or cause or event anything that precedes something similar in time; "phrenology was an antecedent of modern neuroscience" Synonym(s): antecedent, forerunner the referent of an anaphor; a phrase or clause that is referred to by an anaphoric pronoun
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Antecedent \An`teced"ent\, a. [L. antecedens, -entis, p. pr. of antecedere: cf. F. ant[82]c[82]dent.] 1. Going before in time; prior; anterior; preceding; as, an event antecedent* to the Deluge; an antecedent cause. 2. Presumptive; as, an antecedent improbability. Syn: Prior; previous; foregoing.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Antecedent \An`teced"ent\, n. [Cf. F. ant[82]c[82]dent.] 1. That which goes before in time; that which precedes. --South. The Homeric mythology, as well as the Homeric language, has surely its antecedents. --Max Miller. 2. One who precedes or goes in front. [Obs.] My antecedent, or my gentleman usher. --Massinger. 3. pl. The earlier events of one's life; previous principles, conduct, course, history. --J. H. Newman. If the troops . . . prove worthy of their antecedents, the victory is surely ours. --Gen. G. McClellan. 4. (Gram.) The noun to which a relative refers; as, in the sentence [bd]Solomon was the prince who built the temple,[b8] prince is the antecedent* of who. 5. (Logic) (a) The first or conditional part of a hypothetical proposition; as, If the earth is fixed, the sun must move. (b) The first of the two propositions which constitute an enthymeme or contracted syllogism; as, Every man is mortal; therefore the king must die. 6. (Math.) 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.