predate

C2+ Topic:Time

US /priˈdeɪt/ UK /priːˈdeɪt/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to exist or occur before something; to assign an earlier date to

These cave paintings predate the invention of writing.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to exist or occur before... precede antedate forerun

Opposites

postdatefollow succeed

Word family

Related forms date antedatepostdate

Etymology

From pre- ('before') + date. Date derives from Old French date, from Latin data ('given'), from dare ('to give').

data Latin dare Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Time Word Formation & Derivatives

# predate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** priˈdeɪt
**IPA (UK):** priːˈdeɪt

## Meanings
1. to exist or occur before something; to assign an earlier date to

## Examples
- These cave paintings predate the invention of writing.

## Synonyms
- precede
- antedate
- forerun

## Antonyms
- postdate
- follow
- succeed

## Related Forms
- date
- antedate
- postdate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: data
- Root: dare

## Etymology
From pre- ('before') + date. Date derives from Old French date, from Latin data ('given'), from dare ('to give').

## AI Etymology
Predate is from pre- ('before') + date. Date derives from Old French date, from Latin data ('given'), from dare ('to give'). Important recorded forms include data (Latin) and dare (Latin). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense remains close to that composition, with the parts narrowing into a single lexical item. In current use it covers to exist or occur before something; to assign an earlier date to. The wider family includes related words such as date, antedate, and postdate.

## Topics
- Time
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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predate

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