Antecedent
Antecedent ({not transcribed}) , adjective
[Latin antecedens, -entis, present participle of antecedere: compare French 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.
Antecedent , noun
[Compare French 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.
2.
One who precedes or goes in front. [Obsolete]
My antecedent, or my gentleman usher.
3.
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.
4.
(Grammar) 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.
(a) (Logic) The first or conditional part of a hypothetical proposition; as, If the earth is fixed, the sun must move.
(b)
(Logic) The first of the two propositions which constitute an enthymeme or contracted syllogism; as, Every man is mortal; therefore the king must die.
6.
(Mathematics) 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.