forerunner
NounWordNet 3.0
Noun (3)
- a person who goes before or announces the coming of anotherSynonyms: precursor
- something that precedes and indicates the approach of something or someoneSynonyms: harbingerpredecessorheraldprecursor
- anything that precedes something similar in time“phrenology was an antecedent of modern neuroscience”Synonyms: antecedent
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
Forerunner \Fore*run"ner\, n.
1.A messenger sent before to give notice of the approach of others; a harbinger; a sign foreshowing something; a prognostic; as, the forerunner of a fever. [1913 Webster]
Whither the forerunner in for us entered, even Jesus.— Heb. vi. 20.[1913 Webster]
My elder brothers, my forerunners, came.— Dryden.[1913 Webster]
2.A predecessor; an ancestor. [Obs.] --Shak. [1913 Webster]
3.(Naut.) A piece of rag terminating the log line. [1913 Webster]