Antecedent adjective [ Latin antecedens , -entis , present participle of antecedere : confer French antécédent .]
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.

Antecedent noun [ Confer French antécédent .]
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. [ Obsolete]

My antecedent , or my gentleman usher.
Massinger.

3. plural 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.

Antecedently adverb Previously; before in time; at a time preceding; as, antecedently to conversion. Barrow.

Antecessor noun [ Latin , from antecedere , antecessum . See Antecede , Ancestor .]
1. One who goes before; a predecessor.

The successor seldom prosecuting his antecessor's devices.
Sir E. Sandys.

2. An ancestor; a progenitor. [ Obsolete]

Antechamber noun [ Confer French antichambre .]
1. A chamber or apartment before the chief apartment and leading into it, in which persons wait for audience; an outer chamber. See Lobby .

2. A space viewed as the outer chamber or the entrance to an interior part.

The mouth, the antechamber to the digestive canal.
Todd & Bowman.

Antechapel noun The outer part of the west end of a collegiate or other chapel. Shipley.

Antechoir noun (Architecture) (a) A space inclosed or reserved at the entrance to the choir, for the clergy and choristers. (b) Where a choir is divided, as in some Spanish churches, that division of it which is the farther from the sanctuary.

Antecians noun plural See Antœcians .

Antecommunion noun A name given to that part of the Anglican liturgy for the communion, which precedes the consecration of the elements.

Antecursor noun [ Latin , from antecurrere to run before; ante + currere to run.] A forerunner; a precursor. [ Obsolete]

Antedate noun
1. Prior date; a date antecedent to another which is the actual date.

2. Anticipation. [ Obsolete] Donne.

Antedate transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Antedated ; present participle & verbal noun Antedating .]
1. To date before the true time; to assign to an earlier date; thus, to antedate a deed or a bond is to give it a date anterior to the true time of its execution.

2. To precede in time.

3. To anticipate; to make before the true time.

And antedate the bliss above.
Pope.

Who rather rose the day to antedate .
Wordsworth.

Antediluvial adjective [ Prefix ante- + diluvial .] Before the flood, or Deluge, in Noah's time.

Antediluvian adjective Of or relating to the period before the Deluge in Noah's time; hence, antiquated; as, an antediluvian vehicle. -- noun One who lived before the Deluge.

Antefact noun Something done before another act. [ Obsolete]

Antefix noun ; plural English Antefixes ; Latin Antefixa [ Latin ante + fixus fixed.] (Architecture) (a) An ornament fixed upon a frieze. (b) An ornament at the eaves, concealing the ends of the joint tiles of the roof. (c) An ornament of the cymatium of a classic cornice, sometimes pierced for the escape of water.

Anteflexion noun (Medicine) A displacement forward of an organ, esp. the uterus, in such manner that its axis is bent upon itself. T. G. Thomas.

Antelope (ăn"te*lōp) noun [ Old French antelop , French antilope , from Greek 'anqo`lops , -lopos , Eustathius, "Hexaëm.," p. 36, the origin of which is unknown.] (Zoology) One of a group of ruminant quadrupeds, intermediate between the deer and the goat. The horns are usually annulated, or ringed. There are many species in Africa and Asia.

The antelope and wolf both fierce and fell.
Spenser.

» The common or bezoar antelope of India is Antilope bezoartica . The chamois of the Alps, the gazelle, the addax, and the eland are other species. See Gazelle . The pronghorn antelope ( Antilocapra Americana ) is found in the Rocky Mountains. See Pronghorn .

Antelucan adjective [ Latin antelucanus ; ante + lux light.] Held or being before light; -- a word applied to assemblies of Christians, in ancient times of persecution, held before light in the morning. " Antelucan worship." De Quincey.

Antemeridian adjective [ Latin antemeridianus ; ante + meridianus belonging to midday or noon. See Meridian .] Being before noon; in or pertaining to the forenoon. (Abbrev. adjective m. )

Antemetic adjective [ Prefix anti- + emetic .] (Medicine) Tending to check vomiting. -- noun A remedy to check or allay vomiting.

Antemosaic adjective Being before the time of Moses.

Antemundane adjective Being or occurring before the creation of the world. Young.

Antemural noun [ Latin antemurale : ante + murus wall. See Mural .] An outwork of a strong, high wall, with turrets, in front of the gateway (as of an old castle), for defending the entrance.

Antenatal adjective Before birth. Shelley.

Antenicene adjective [ Latin ] Of or in the Christian church or era, anterior to the first council of Nice, held a.d. 325; as, antenicene faith.

Antenna noun ; plural Antennæ [ Latin antenna sail-yard; New Latin , a feeler, horn of an insect.] (Zoology) A movable, articulated organ of sensation, attached to the heads of insects and Crustacea. There are two in the former, and usually four in the latter. They are used as organs of touch, and in some species of Crustacea the cavity of the ear is situated near the basal joint. In insects, they are popularly called horns , and also feelers . The term in also applied to similar organs on the heads of other arthropods and of annelids.

Antennal adjective (Zoology) Belonging to the antennæ. Owen.

Antenniferous adjective [ Antenna + -ferous .] (Zoology) Bearing or having antennæ.

Antenniform adjective [ Antenna + -form .] Shaped like antennæ.

Antennule noun [ Dim. of antenna .] (Zoology) A small antenna; -- applied to the smaller pair of antennæ or feelers of Crustacea.

Antenumber noun A number that precedes another. [ R.] Bacon.

Antenuptial adjective Preceding marriage; as, an antenuptial agreement. Kent.

Anteorbital adjective & noun (Anat.) Same as Antorbital .

Antepaschal adjective Pertaining to the time before the Passover, or before Easter.

Antepast noun [ Prefix ante- + Latin pastus pasture, food. Confer Repast .] A foretaste.

Antepasts of joy and comforts.
Jer. Taylor.

Antependium noun [ Late Latin , from Latin ante + pendere to hang.] (Eccl.) The hangings or screen in front of the altar; an altar cloth; the frontal. Smollett.

Antepenult An`te*pe*nult"i*ma noun [ Latin antepaenultima (sc. syllaba ) antepenultimate; ante before + paenultimus the last but one; paene almost + ultimus last.] (Pros.) The last syllable of a word except two, as -syl- in monosyllable .

Antepenultimate adjective Of or pertaining to the last syllable but two. -- noun The antepenult.

Antephialtic adjective [ Prefix anti- + Greek ... nightmare.] (Medicine) Good against nightmare. -- noun A remedy nightmare. Dunglison.

Antepileptic adjective [ Prefix anti- + epileptic .] (Medicine) Good against epilepsy. -- noun A medicine for epilepsy.

Antepone transitive verb [ Latin anteponere .] To put before; to prefer. [ Obsolete] Bailey.

Anteport noun [ Confer Late Latin anteporta .] An outer port, gate, or door.

Anteportico noun An outer porch or vestibule.

Anteposition noun [ Confer Late Latin antepositio . See Position .] (Gram.) The placing of a before another, which, by ordinary rules, ought to follow it.

Anteprandial adjective Preceding dinner.

Antepredicament noun (Logic) A prerequisite to a clear understanding of the predicaments and categories, such as definitions of common terms. Chambers.

Anterior adjective [ Latin anterior , comp. of ante before.]
1. Before in time; antecedent.

Antigonus, who was anterior to Polybius.
Sir G. C. Lewis.

2. Before, or toward the front, in place; as, the anterior part of the mouth; -- opposed to posterior .

» In comparative anatomy, anterior often signifies at or toward the head, cephalic; and in human anatomy it is often used for ventral .

Syn. -- Antecedent; previous; precedent; preceding; former; foregoing.

Anteriority noun [ Late Latin anterioritas .] The state of being anterior or preceding in time or in situation; priority. Pope.

Anteriorly adverb In an anterior manner; before.