Anterior

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Anterior \An*te"ri*or\, a. [L. anterior, comp. of ante before.]
     1. Before in time; antecedent.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Antigonus, who was anterior to Polybius. --Sir G. C.
                                                    Lewis.


        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Before, or toward the front, in place; as, the anterior
        part of the mouth; -- opposed to posterior.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: In comparative anatomy, anterior often signifies at or
           toward the head, cephalic; and in human anatomy it is
           often used for ventral.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: Antecedent; previous; precedent; preceding; former;
          foregoing.
          [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  anterior
       adj 1: of or near the head end or toward the front plane of the
              body [ant: {posterior}]
       2: earlier in time [syn: {prior(a)}]
       n : a tooth situated at the front of the mouth; "his
           malocclusion was caused by malposed anteriors" [syn: {front
           tooth}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  55 Moby Thesaurus words for "anterior":
     album, ana, analects, antecedent, anticipatory, chief, ci-devant,
     collection, compilation, delectus, earlier, early, elder, exordial,
     first, florilegium, fore, foregoing, forehand, foremost, former,
     forward, front, frontal, garland, head, headmost, inaugural,
     initiatory, leading, miscellany, older, omnibus, posy, precedent,
     preceding, precessional, precurrent, precursory, preexistent,
     prefatory, preliminary, preludial, prelusive, preparatory,
     prevenient, previous, primary, prime, prior, proemial,
     propaedeutic, senior, treasure-house, treasury