Antecedent
Etymology
From Latin antecedens, the present participle of antecedere, "to go before," from ante, "before," and cedere, "to go, yield" (the root of "proceed" and "recede"). It literally means "the thing going before." Grammar borrowed it for the noun a pronoun refers back to, but its wider sense covers any earlier condition, cause, or forerunner.
noun · /an-tuh-SEE-duhnt/
A thing or event that comes before another, especially one that precedes it as a cause or model.
What it names
The word for what precedes and gives rise to something — the antecedents of a war, of a style, of a person’s character — the earlier facts that set the stage.
Example
To understand the revolution, the historian argued, you had to trace its antecedents back a full century.
Related idea
Precursor implies actively paving the way for what comes next; antecedent is more neutral, marking simply what came earlier, whether or not it caused the result.
noun · /an-tuh-SEE-duhnt/
In grammar, the earlier word or phrase that a pronoun refers back to.
What it names
the referent of a pronoun — the noun that “it,” “they,” or “which” stands in for
Example
In “the dog wagged its tail,” “dog” is the antecedent of “its.”
Related idea
The general sense — what comes before — narrows to the grammatical thing a pronoun points back to. In the plural, “antecedents” can also mean a person’s ancestry or past history.