predecessor

Meaning

1. One who precedes; one who has preceded another in any state, position, office, etc.; one whom another follows or comes after, in any office or position.
2. A model or type of machinery or device which precedes the current (or later) one. Usually used to describe an earlier, outdated model.
3. A vertex having a directed path to another vertex

Opposite of

successor

Synonyms

forerunner

precursor

ancestor

antecedent

forefather

antecessor

foregoer

pioneer

seniority

herald

Pred

harbinger

precedent

earlier

leader

prior

progenitor

guide

former people

former

fore-runner

pathfinder

Translations

Vorgänger

prédécesseur

predecesor

predecessore

voorganger

predecessor

antecessore

predecessor

antecesor

öncel

προκάτοχος

Vorgängerin

devancier

antecessor

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈpɹiːdɪsɛsə(ɹ)/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: predecessour

Cognate with English: decease

In summary

From Middle English predecessour, from Old French predecesseor (“forebear”), from Late Latin praedēcessor, from Latin prae- (“pre-”) + Latin dēcessor (“retiring officer”), from Latin dēcēdō (“I retire, I die”) (English decease).