predecessor
NounUS[pred-uh-ses-er]/ˈprɛdəˌsɛsɚ/4 syllables
Open English WordNet
Noun (2)predecessors
- one who precedes you in time (as in holding a position or office)Type of precursor, forerunnerKinds forefather
- something that precedes and indicates the approach of something or someoneSynonyms: harbingerforerunnerheraldprecursorType of indication, indicant
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Pred′e·ces′sor (?; 277), noun
Origin: L. praedecessor; prae before + decessor one who withdraws from the province he has governed, a retiring officer (with reference to his successor), a predecessor, fr. decedere: cf. F. prédécesseur. See Decease.
One who precedes; one who has preceded another in any state, position, office, etc.; one whom another follows or comes after, in any office or position.
A prince who was as watchful as his predecessor had been over the interests of the state.— William Hickling Prescott
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54
Free On-line Dictionary of Computing
parent mother predecessor
<mathematics, data> The ancestor node in a tree that points to the current node (one of its child nodes).
(2005-09-15)