1. (

• ancestor ,
• ascendant ,
• ascendent ,
• antecedent ,
• root

) someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent) ;

2. (

• antecedent

) a preceding occurrence or cause or event ;

3. (

• antecedent ,
• forerunner

) anything that precedes something similar in time; "phrenology was an antecedent of modern neuroscience" ;

4. (

• antecedent

) the referent of an anaphor; a phrase or clause that is referred to by an anaphoric pronoun ;

1. (

• antecedent

) preceding in time or order ;