a thing that existed before or logically precedes another

some antecedents to the African novel might exist in Africa's oral traditions

a person's ancestors or family and social background

her early life and antecedents have been traced

an earlier word, phrase, or clause to which another word (especially a following relative pronoun) refers back

the statement contained in the ‘if’ clause of a conditional proposition

preceding in time or order; previous or pre-existing

antecedent events

denoting or counting as an antecedent