predecessor
- predecessor
predecessor (
n.) late 14c., "
one who has held an office or position before the present holder," from
L.L. praedecessorem (
nom. praedecessor),
c.420, from
L. prae "
before" (see
PRE- (
Cf. pre-)) +
decessor "
retiring official," from
decess-,
pp. stem of
decedere "
go away," also "
die" (see
DECEASE (
Cf. decease)). Meaning "
ancestor, forefather" is recorded from
c.1400.
Etymology dictionary.
2014.
Synonyms:
Look at other dictionaries:
predecessor — pre‧de‧ces‧sor [ˈpriːdsesə ǁ ˈpredsesər] noun [countable] formal 1. a person who was in a particular post or job before the person who is doing it now: • Problems he inherited from his predecessor led to the bank s later troubles. 2. a machine … Financial and business terms
Predecessor — Pred e*ces sor (?; 277), n. [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. pr[ e]d[ e]cesseur. See… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
predecessor — I noun ancestor, antecedent, antecessor, elder, forebearer, forefather, foregoer, foreparent, forerunner, former incumbent, former officeholder, founder, originator, patriarch, precursor, procreator, progenitor II index ancestor, ascendant,… … Law dictionary
predecessor — |ô| s. m. Antecessor … Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa
predecessor — [n] something, someone that comes before ancestor, antecedent, antecessor, forebear, foregoer, forerunner, former, precursor, previous, prior, prototype; concepts 414,828 Ant. derivative, descendant, successor … New thesaurus
predecessor — ► NOUN 1) a person who held a job or office before the current holder. 2) a thing that has been followed or replaced by another. ORIGIN Latin praedecessor, from prae beforehand + decessor retiring officer … English terms dictionary
predecessor — [pred′ə ses΄ər, prē′dəses′ər; pred΄ə ses′ər] n. [ME predecessour < MFr predecesseur < LL praedecessor < L prae , before (see PRE ) + decessor, retiring officer < decessus, pp. of decedere, to go away, depart < de , from + cedere,… … English World dictionary
predecessor — [[t]pri͟ːdɪsesə(r), AM pre̱d [/t]] predecessors 1) N COUNT: usu poss N Your predecessor is the person who had your job before you. He maintained that he learned everything he knew from his predecessor Kenneth Sisam. 2) N COUNT: usu with poss The… … English dictionary
predecessor — n. smb. s immediate predecessor * * * [ priːdɪsesə] s immediate predecessor smb … Combinatory dictionary
predecessor — pre|de|ces|sor [ˈpri:dısesə US ˈpredısesər] n [Date: 1300 1400; : French; Origin: prédécesseur, from Late Latin, from Latin decedere to go away, leave your job ] 1.) someone who had your job before you started doing it ≠ ↑successor ▪ Kennedy s… … Dictionary of contemporary English