User Contributed Dictionary

English

antecedents

An antecedent is a preceding event, condition, cause, phrase, or word.

Antecedent moisture is a hydrologic term describing the relative wetness condition of a sewershed.
In logic, an antecedent is the first half of a hypothetical proposition.
In grammar, an antecedent is the word to which a pronoun refers.
A musical phrase (music) may be an antecedent or consequent phrase.
In criminal cases, antecedents are the life history and previous convictions of a defendant.
In behavioral research, an antecedent stimulus elicits a learned response from an organism.
In drama and literature, the antecedent action is what occurs prior to the opening of a play or story.