Definition of PREDECESSOR

predecessor

Plural: predecessors

Noun

  • one who precedes you in time (as in holding a position or office)
  • something that precedes and indicates the approach of something or someone
  • 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 model or type of machinery or device which precedes the current (or later) one. Usually used to describe an earlier, outdated model.
  • A vertex having a directed path to another vertex

Examples

  • The steam engine was the predecessor of diesel and electric locomotives.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English predecessour, from Old French predecesseor (“forebear”), from Late Latin praedēcessor, from Latin prae- (“pre-”) + Latin dēcessor (“retiring officer”), from Latin dēcēdō (“I retire, I die”) (English decease).

Antonyms

successor

Scrabble Score: 16

predecessor: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
predecessor: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
predecessor: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 18

predecessor: valid Words With Friends Word