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Webster 1913 Edition

Antecedent

Anˊte-ced′ent

,
Adj.
[L.
antecedens
,
-entis
, p. pr. of
antecedere
: cf. F.
antécédent
.]
1.
Going before in time; prior; anterior; preceding;
as, an event
antecedent
to the Deluge; an
antecedent
cause.
2.
Presumptive;
as, an
antecedent
improbability
.
Syn. – Prior; previous; foregoing.

Anˊte-ced′ent

,
Noun.
[Cf. F.
antécédent
.]
1.
That which goes before in time; that which precedes.
South.
The Homeric mythology, as well as the Homeric language, has surely its
antecedents
.
Max Miller.
2.
One who precedes or goes in front.
[Obs.]
My
antecedent
, or my gentleman usher.
Massinger.
3.
pl.
The earlier events of one’s life; previous principles, conduct, course, history.
J. H. Newman.
If the troops . . . prove worthy of their
antecedents
, the victory is surely ours.
Gen. G. McClellan.
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.

Webster 1828 Edition

Antecedent

ANTECE'DENT

,
Adj.
Going before in time; prior; anterior; preceding; as, an event antecedent to the deluge.

ANTECE'DENT

,
Noun.
That which goes before in time; hence in writings, that which precedes in place. In grammar, the noun to which a relative or other substitute refers; as, Solomon was the prince, who built the Temple. In logic, the first of two propositions in an enthymeme, or argument of two propositions; as, if the sun is fixed, the earth must move. Here the first and conditional proposition is the antecedent; the second, the consequent.
In mathematics, the first of two terms of a ratio, or that which is compared with the other.

Definition 2024

antecedent

antecedent

See also: antécédent

English

Adjective

antecedent ‎(not comparable)

  1. Earlier, either in time or order.
    an event antecedent to the Biblical Flood
    an antecedent cause
  2. presumptive
    an antecedent improbability

Translations

Noun

Examples (linguistics: expression referred to by pronoun)
  • In “The policeman asked the boy what he was doing.”, the phrase “the boy” is the antecedent of the pronoun “he”.
  • In the sentence “I saw my girlfriend yesterday wearing her old jacket which is odd because she almost never wears it.”, the phrase “my girlfriend” is the antecedent of “her” and “old jacket” is the antecedent of “it”.

antecedent ‎(plural antecedents)

  1. Any thing that precedes another thing, especially the cause of the second thing.
  2. An ancestor.
  3. (grammar) A word, phrase or clause referred to by a pronoun.
    • Fowler
      [W]hereas it might seem orderly that, as who is appropriated to persons, so that should have been appropriated to things […] the antecedent of that is often personal.
    • 1988, Andrew Radford, Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 117:
      One such condition can be formulated in terms of the
      c-command relation defined in (9) above: the relevant condition is given in (16)
      below:
      (16)    C-COMMAND CONDITION ON ANAPHORS
              An anaphor must have an appropriate c-commanding antecedent
  4. (logic) The conditional part of a hypothetical proposition.
  5. (logic) The first of two subsets of a sequent, consisting of all the sequent's formulae which are valuated as true.
    (Can we add an example for this sense?)
  6. (mathematics) The first term of a ratio, i.e. the term a in the ratio a:b, the other being the consequent.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Holonyms

Translations

See also

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɑn.tə.səˈdɛnt/
  • Hyphenation: an‧te‧ce‧dent

Etymology

From Latin antecēdēns ‎(“go before”), from antecēdere ‎(“to yield before”).

Noun

antecedent n ‎(plural antecedenten, diminutive antecedentje n)

  1. antecedent (linguistics)
  2. antecedent (logic)
  3. antecedent (thing that precedes)

Antonyms

Latin

Verb

antecēdent

  1. third-person plural future active indicative of antecēdō

Etymology

From Old French antecedent (French antécédent), from Latin antecēdēns ‎(“go before”), from antecēdere ‎(“to yield before”).

Pronunciation

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