1. (a.) Going before in time, place or rank; prior\; anterior; preceding; as, an event antecedent to the Deluge; an antecedent cause.

2. (a.) Presumptive; as, an antecedent improbability.

3. (n.) That which goes before in time; that which precedes.

4. (n.) One who precedes or goes in front.

5. (n.) The earlier events of one's life; previous principles, conduct, course, history.

6. (n.) 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.

7. (n.) The first or conditional part of a hypothetical proposition; as, If the earth is fixed, the sun must move.

8. (n.) The first of the two propositions which constitute an enthymeme or contracted syllogism; as, Every man is mortal; therefore the king must die.

9. (n.) 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.

agency ancestor ancestors announcer antecede antecedents antedate anterior anticipatory ascendant ascendants avant-garde base basis bellwether buccinator bushwhacker call causation cause cause and effect chief ci-devant determinant determinative earlier early elder elders element etiology exordial explorer factor fathers first fore forebear forebears forefather forefathers foregoer foregoing foremost forerun forerunner former front runner frontiersman fugleman grandfathers grandparents ground groundbreaker grounds guide harbinger heading headmost herald inaugural initiatory innovator instrumentality lead runner leader leading means messenger occasion older pace past pathfinder patriarchs pioneer point precedent preceding precessional precurrent precursor precursory predate predecessor predecessors preexistent prefatory preliminary preludial prelusive premise preparatory prevenient previous prime primogenitor principle prior proemial progenitor progenitors propaedeutic prototype reason scout senior stimulus stormy petrel trailblazer trailbreaker vanguard vaunt-courier voortrekker