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Antecedent   /ˌæntˈɛsədənt/  /ˌæntɪsˈidənt/   Listen
noun
Antecedent  n.  
1.
That which goes before in time; that which precedes. "The Homeric mythology, as well as the Homeric language, has surely its antecedents."
2.
One who precedes or goes in front. (Obs.) "My antecedent, or my gentleman usher."
3.
pl. The earlier events of one's life; previous principles, conduct, course, history. "If the troops... prove worthy of their antecedents, the victory is surely ours."
4.
(Gram.) The noun to which a relative refers; as, in the sentence "Solomon was the prince who built the temple," 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.



adjective
Antecedent  adj.  
1.
Going before in time; prior; anterior; preceding; as, an event antecedent to the Deluge; an antecedent cause.
2.
Presumptive; as, an antecedent improbability.
Synonyms: Prior; previous; foregoing.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Antecedent" Quotes from Famous Books



... installments; and even the second was a disappointment. As soon as the tale became in any way perspicuous, it lost all merit in my eyes; only a single scene, or, as is the way with these feuilletons, half a scene, without antecedent or consequence, like a piece of a dream, had the knack of fixing my interest. The less I saw of the novel, the better I liked it: a pregnant reflection. But for the most part, as I said, we neither of us read anything ...
— The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition - Vol. 1 (of 25) • Robert Louis Stevenson

... brought up there, and the best scholar there is one of his own college, and the best scholar there is one of his friends. He is a great favourer of great persons, and his argument is still that which should be antecedent; as,—he is in high place, therefore virtuous;—he is preferred, therefore worthy. Never ask his opinion, for you shall hear but his faction, and he is indifferent in nothing but conscience. Men esteem him for this a zealous affectionate, but they mistake him many times, for he does ...
— Character Writings of the 17th Century • Various

... story of Sakyamuni and his antecedent births thus led to the idea that all may become Buddhas. An equally natural development in another direction created celestial and superhuman Bodhisattvas. The Hinayana held that Gotama, before his last birth, ...
— Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. (of 3) - An Historical Sketch • Charles Eliot

... open this letter to acknowledge yours of the 30th June, N. S., which I have but this instant received, though thirteen days antecedent in date to Mr. Harte's last. I never in my life heard of bathing four hours a day; and I am impatient to hear of your safe arrival at Venice, after so ...
— The PG Edition of Chesterfield's Letters to His Son • The Earl of Chesterfield

... daily which nevertheless weighed her to the ground? Was it expected of him that he should answer that portion of her letter? It amounted to a passionate renewal of that declaration of affection for himself which she had made at Koenigstein, and which had pervaded her whole life since some period antecedent to her wretched marriage. Phineas, as he thought of it, tried to analyse the nature of such a love. He also, in those old days, had loved her, and had at once resolved that he must tell her so, though his hopes of success ...
— Phineas Redux • Anthony Trollope


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