antecedent
ante|ced|ent /'æntɪs'iːdənt/ (antecedents)
[N-COUNT] usu with supp
An antecedent of something happened or existed before it and was similar to it in some way. (FORMAL)
We shall first look briefly at the historical antecedents of this theory.
= precursor
[N-COUNT] usu with supp
An antecedent of something happened or existed before it and was similar to it in some way. (FORMAL)
We shall first look briefly at the historical antecedents of this theory.
= precursor