Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Anterior

Anterior ({not transcribed}) , adjective

[Latin anterior, comp. of ante before.]

1.
Before in time; antecedent.
Antigonus, who was anterior to Polybius. — Sir G. C. Lewis
2.
Before, or toward the front, in place; as, the anterior part of the mouth; -- opposed to posterior.

In comparative anatomy, anterior often signifies at or toward the head, cephalic; and in human anatomy it is often used for ventral.