n.[C]

1. 前事，前情
2. 【语】（关系代词的）先行词
   The word "man" is the antecedent of "who" in "the man who spoke".

   “man”这个字是“the man who spoke”中“who”的先行词。

3. 【数】（比例）前项
4. 【逻】前件
5. 经历；学历；祖先[P]
   a person of shady antecedents

   背景可疑的人

6. 前身

a.

1. 在前的，在先的[（+to）]
   That was antecedent to this event.

   那是在这一事件之前。

n.

1. a thing that existed before or logically precedes another.
2. (antecedents) a person's ancestors and social background.
3. Grammar  an earlier word, phrase, or clause to which a following pronoun refers back.
4. Logic  the statement contained in the ‘if’ clause of a conditional proposition.

adj.