Antecedent

Going before in time; prior; anterior; preceding; as, an event antecedent to the Deluge; an antecedent cause.

Presumptive; as, an antecedent improbability.

That which goes before in time; that which precedes.

One who precedes or goes in front.

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

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.

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

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

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.

someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)

anything that precedes something similar in time; "phrenology was an antecedent of modern neuroscience"

the referent of an anaphor; a phrase or clause that is referred to by an anaphoric pronoun