antecedent (
http://definr.com/antecedent)
adj : preceding in time or order [syn:
preceding] [ant:
subsequent]
n 1: someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote
that 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