(1):

(a.) Presumptive; as, an antecedent improbability.

(2):

(a.) Going before in time; prior; anterior; preceding; as, an event antecedent to the Deluge; an antecedent cause.

(3):

(n.) The first or conditional part of a hypothetical proposition; as, If the earth is fixed, the sun must move.

(4):

(n.) 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.

(5):

(n.) That which goes before in time; that which precedes.

(6):

(n.) One who precedes or goes in front.

(7):

(n.) The earlier events of one's life; previous principles, conduct, course, history.

(8):

(n.) The first of the two propositions which constitute an enthymeme or contracted syllogism; as, Every man is mortal; therefore the king must die.

(9):

(n.) 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.