antecedental
|an-te-ce-den-tal|
/ˌæn.tɪˈsiː.dən.təl/
coming before / related to what precedes
Etymology
'antecedental' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'antecedere', where 'ante-' meant 'before' and 'cedere' meant 'to go'; the adjective is formed by the stem 'antecedent-' plus the adjectival suffix '-al'.
'antecedental' developed from Late Latin 'antecedent-' (from 'antecedere'), which passed into Middle English as 'antecedent' (noun/adjective) and later formed the derivative adjective 'antecedental' by adding the suffix '-al' in modern English.
Initially the Latin root conveyed 'to go before'; over time this evolved into meanings such as 'that which comes before' and the adjectival sense 'relating to what precedes', which is preserved in 'antecedental'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
relating to or denoting an antecedent; preceding in time, order, or position.
The committee reviewed antecedental factors that might have contributed to the collapse.
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Adjective 2
in grammar, describing something that functions as an antecedent (for example, a noun that a pronoun refers back to).
In the sentence, the antecedental noun must agree with its pronoun in number and gender.
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Last updated: 2025/08/21 10:07