an·te·ced·ent /ˌæntəˈsidṇt/
 (a.)先前的,先行的前事,先例,先行詞


 antecedent
 先行


 An·te·ced·ent a.
 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.


 An·te·ced·ent, n.
 1. That which goes before in time; that which precedes.
    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.
    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.

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 antecedent
      adj : preceding in time or order [syn: preceding] [ant: subsequent]
      n 1: someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote
           than a grandparent) [syn: ancestor, ascendant, ascendent,
            root] [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