Antecedent
Encyclopedia
An antecedent is a preceding event, condition, cause, phrase, or word. It may refer to:
- Antecedent moistureAntecedent moistureAntecedent moisture is a term from the fields of Hydrology and sewage collection and disposal that describes the relative wetness or dryness of a watershed or sanitary sewershed. Antecedent moisture conditions change continuously and can have a very significant effect on the flow responses in...
, a hydrologic term describing the relative wetness condition of a sewershed. - Antecedent (logic)Antecedent (logic)An antecedent is the first half of a hypothetical proposition.Examples:* If P, then Q.This is a nonlogical formulation of a hypothetical proposition...
, the first half of a hypothetical proposition. - Antecedent (grammar)Antecedent (grammar)In grammar, an antecedent is a noun, noun phrase, or clause to which an anaphor refers in a coreference. For example, in the passage "I did not see John because he wasn't there", "John" is the antecedent of the anaphor "he"; together "John" and "he" are called a coreference because they both refer...
, the word to which a pronoun refers. - A musical phrase (music)Phrase (music)In music and music theory, phrase and phrasing are concepts and practices related to grouping consecutive melodic notes, both in their composition and performance...
may be an antecedent or consequent phrase. - Antecedent (genealogy)Antecedent (genealogy)In genealogy or in phylogenetic studies of evolutionary biology an antecedent, antecessor or antecedents are predecessors in a family line. I am the descendants of my grandparents, they are my antecedents. This term has particular utility in evolutionary coalescent theory, which models the process...
, antonym of descendant, genealogical predecessor in family line. - Antecedent (law)Antecedent (law)Antecedents are the life history and previous convictions of a defendant in a criminal case. They are colloquially known as "previous convictions" in the U.K. and "prior convictions" in the United States and Australia.When a defendant is being sentenced for a crime, the court will be told his or...
, in criminology, the life history and previous convictions of a defendant.