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more about antecedent
antecedent |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Antecedent \An`te*ced"ent\, a. [L. antecedens -entis, p. pr of antecedere: cf F. ant['e]c['e]dent.] 1. Going before in time; prior; anterior; preceding; as an event antecedent to the Deluge; an antecedent cause 2. Presumptive; as an antecedent improbability. Syn: Prior; previous; foregoing. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Antecedent \An`te*ced"ent\, n. [Cf. F. ant['e]c['e]dent.] 1. That which goes before in time; that which precedes. --South. The Homeric mythology, as well as the Homeric language, has surely its antecedents. --Max Miller. 2. One who precedes or goes in front. [Obs.] My antecedent, or my gentleman usher. --Massinger. 3. pl 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 --Gen. G. McClellan 4. (Gram.) 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. (Logic) a The first or conditional part of a hypothetical proposition; as If the earth is fixed, the sun must move b The first of the two propositions which constitute an enthymeme or contracted syllogism; as Every man is mortal; therefore the king must die. 6. (Math.) 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. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: antecedent adj : preceding in time or order [syn: {preceding}] [ant: {subsequent}] n 1: someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote that a grandparent) [syn: {ancestor}, {ascendant}, {ascendent}] [ant: {descendant}] 2: a preceding occurrence or cause or event 3: anything that precedes something similar in time; "phrenology was an antecedent of modern neuroscience" [syn: {forerunner}] 4: the referent of an anaphor; a phrase or clause that is referred to by an anaphoric pronoun
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