antecedent

C2+ Topic:Word Formation & Derivatives

US /ˌæntɪˈsiːdənt/ UK /ˌæntɪˈsiːdənt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a thing that comes before another; (adj) preceding in time or order

Poverty was the chief antecedent of the city's unrest.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a thing that comes before... precursor forerunner predecessor prior preceding previous

Opposites

consequent subsequent successor following

Word family

Derived forms antecedentlyantecedence

Related forms cede precede

Simplified etymology

Antecedent entered English in the late Middle English period and comes from the same Latin base as ancestor, ultimately Latin cedere, “to yield, give way, go.” The associated element ante means “before.”

Etymology

From Latin antecedēns ('going before'), present participle of antecedere ('to go before'), from ante- ('before') + cedere ('to go, yield').

antecedēns Latin cedere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Word Formation & Derivatives General Vocabulary

External links

# antecedent

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˌæntɪˈsiːdənt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌæntɪˈsiːdənt/

## Meanings
1. a thing that comes before another; (adj) preceding in time or order

## Examples
- Poverty was the chief antecedent of the city's unrest.

## Synonyms
- precursor
- forerunner
- predecessor
- prior
- preceding
- previous

## Antonyms
- consequent
- subsequent
- successor
- following

## Derived Forms
- antecedently
- antecedence

## Related Forms
- cede
- precede

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: antecedēns
- Root: cedere
- Affix: ante- - before

## Etymology
From Latin antecedēns ('going before'), present participle of antecedere ('to go before'), from ante- ('before') + cedere ('to go, yield').

## AI Etymology
Antecedent is from Latin antecedēns ('going before'), present participle of antecedere ('to go before'), from ante- ('before') + cedere ('to go, yield'). In present-day use, it means a thing that comes before another; (adj) preceding in time or order. Derived formations include antecedently and antecedence. Related vocabulary includes cede and precede.

## Topics
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- General Vocabulary

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