antecedent

1. (grammar) A word, phrase or clause referred to by a pronoun or other pro-form.Examples: "[W]hereas it might seem orderly that, as who is appropriated to persons, so that should have been appropriated to things […] the antecedent of that is often personal"; "One such condition can be formulated in terms of the c-command relation defined in (9) above: the relevant condition is given in (16) below: (16) C-COMMAND CONDITION ON ANAPHORS An anaphor must have an appropriate c-commanding antecedent"

2. (logic) The conditional part of a hypothetical proposition, i.e. p→q, where p is the antecedent, and q is the consequent.

3. (logic) The first of two subsets of a sequent, consisting of all the sequent's formulae which are valuated as true.

4. (mathematics) The first term of a ratio, i.e. the term a in the ratio a:b, the other being the consequent.

5. (chiefly in the plural) Previous principles, conduct, history, etc.in-plural