antecedent
UK [ˌæn.ti'si:.dənt] US [-tˌə-] noun countable formal
■someone or something existing or happening before, especially as the cause or origin of something existing or happening later （尤指作为后来存在或发生之事的起因或起源的）前事，前情，先例；祖先•Charles Babbage's mechanical calculating engines were the antecedents of the modern computer.查尔斯‧巴贝奇的机械电脑是现代电脑的前身。 •Many people feel a great curiosity to find out about their antecedents.很多人对于他们的祖先充满了好奇，很想探究一番。 ■specialized
■a word or phrase which a pronoun refers back to 先行词，前述词•In the sentence 'He picked a book off the shelf and handed it to Sally, 'book' is the antecedent of 'it'.在句子 He picked a book off the shelf and handed it to Sally 中，book 是 it 的先行词。
UK [ˌæn.ti'si:.dənt] US [-tˌə-] adjective formal
■previous （同页中）上面提到的（地）；上文（的），前文（的）•When the college was established in 1546, it inherited a hall from each of three antecedent institutions.该学院在1546年建立时，从作为其前身的三个机构中分别承继了一座教学大楼。 |