Word of the Day

: September 15, 2010

antecessor

noun an-tih-SESS-er

What It Means

: one that goes before

antecessor in Context

Literary critics hailed the first novel as a brilliant and groundbreaking follow-up to famous antecessors in the genre.

"The relentless show-biz blitz by Gov. Bill Richardson, and all the movie- and TV-shooting it's brought to our state, will be a big part of his legend…. Before Richardson's initiative, antecessor Dave Cargo was beckoning to Beverly Hills." -- From an editorial in the Santa Fe New Mexican, July 25, 2009

Did You Know?

"Antecessor" may remind you of "predecessor," its synonymous and more familiar cousin -- and there's a good reason for that. Both words ultimately derive from the Latin verb "cedere," meaning "to go." "Antecessor" ultimately derives from a combination of "cedere" and the Latin prefix "ante-," meaning "before." "Predecessor" traces back to a different Latin prefix, "prae-," which also means "before," combined with "decessor," a "cedere" descendant meaning "retiring governor." Cedere" has many other descendants in English, including "decease," "necessary," and "succeed." Descendants of both "ante-" and "cedere" include "antecedent," "ancestor," and the verb "antecede," a synonym of "precede."