predecease

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to die before another person

   The will explains what happens if either beneficiary should predecease the testator.

2. 2
   noun

   the death of one person before another

   The clause covered the heir's possible predecease without naming a replacement.

Formed from pre- ("before") + decease. Decease came through Old French from Latin decessus ("departure"), which developed the euphemistic meaning "death." The word is especially common in legal and testamentary language.

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