going before in time; prior; anterior; preceding; as, an event antecedent to the deluge; an antecedent cause.-presumptive; as, an antecedent improbability.-that which goes before in time; that which precedes.-one who precedes or goes in front.-the earlier events of one's life; previous principles, conduct, course, history.-the noun to which a relative refers; as, in the sentence "solomon was the prince who built the temple," prince is the antecedent of who.-the first or conditional part of a hypothetical proposition; as, if the earth is fixed, the sun must move.-the first of the two propositions which constitute an enthymeme or contracted syllogism; as, every man is mortal; therefore the king must die.-the first of the two terms of a ratio; the first or third of the four terms of a proportion. in the ratio a:b, a is the antecedent, and b the consequent.