Antecedent

Antecedent-n
1-something that happened or existed before something else
2-a word or phrase that a subsequent word refers back to. "Mary" is the antecedent of "her" in the sentence "I'll give this to Mary if I see her."
3-the first part of a conditional proposition, which states the condition and is the p component in a propostion phrased "if p then q"

npl-antecedents
1-somebody's ancestors
2-the events or circumstances in somebody's past

adj
happening or existing before something else (formal)

Synonyms
precursor
forerunner
ancestor
predecessor
forebear