preceding; prior

an antecedent event.

a preceding circumstance, event, object, style, phenomenon, etc.

antecedents,

ancestors.

the history, events, characteristics, etc., of one's earlier life

Little is known about his birth and antecedents.

Grammar . a word, phrase, or clause, usually a substantive, that is replaced by a pronoun or other substitute later, or occasionally earlier, in the same or in another, usually subsequent, sentence. In Jane lost a glove and she can't find it, Jane is the antecedent of she and glove is the antecedent of it.

Mathematics .

the first term of a ratio; the first or third term of a proportion.

the first of two vectors in a dyad.

Logic . the conditional element in a proposition, as Caesar conquered Gaul, in If Caesar conquered Gaul, he was a great general.

adjective

after , following

adjective

anterior , earlier , foregoing , former , past , precedent , preceding , precursory , preliminary , previous , prior

noun

forerunner , precursor , predecessor , progenitor , occasion , ascendant , father , forebear , forefather , foremother , mother , parent