Word Meaning

Meaning of antecedent

- Going before in time; prior; anterior; preceding; as, an event antecedent to the Deluge; an antecedent cause.
- Presumptive; as, an antecedent improbability.
- That which goes before in time; that which precedes.
- One who precedes or goes in front.
- The earlier events of one's life; previous principles, conduct, course, history.
- 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.
- The first or conditional part of a hypothetical proposition; as, If the earth is fixed, the sun must move.
- The first of the two propositions which constitute an enthymeme or contracted syllogism; as, Every man is mortal; therefore the king must die.
- 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.

Crossword clue for antecedent

- Ancestor
- Going before
- Preceding in time