antecedent

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)
  2. noun a preceding occurrence or cause or event
  3. noun anything that precedes something similar in time

Etymology

From Middle English antecedent, borrowed from Old French antecedent, from Latin antecēdēns (“going before”), from antecēdō (“to precede; excel; surpass”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

ancestor, ascendant, ascendent, root

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