Predecessor

5 definitions found

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

  Predecessor \Pred`e*ces"sor\ (?; 277), n. [L. praedecessor; prae
     before + decessor one who withdraws from the province he has
     governed, a retiring officer (with reference to his
     successor), a predecessor, fr. decedere: cf. F.
     pr['e]d['e]cesseur. See {Decease}.]
     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.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           A prince who was as watchful as his predecessor had
           been over the interests of the state.    --Prescott.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  predecessor
       n : one who precedes you in time (as in holding a position or
           office)

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

  49 Moby Thesaurus words for "predecessor":
     ancestor, ancestors, announcer, antecedent, antecedents,
     ascendants, avant-garde, bellwether, buccinator, bushwhacker,
     elders, explorer, fathers, forebear, forebears, forefather,
     forefathers, foregoer, forerunner, front runner, frontiersman,
     fugleman, grandfathers, grandparents, groundbreaker, guide,
     harbinger, herald, innovator, lead runner, leader, messenger,
     pathfinder, patriarchs, pioneer, point, precedent, precursor,
     predecessor, predecessors, progenitors, prototype, scout,
     stormy petrel, trailblazer, trailbreaker, vanguard, vaunt-courier,
     voortrekker
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  predecessor
       
          {parent}
       
       

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  PREDECESSOR. One who has preceded another. 
       2. This term is applied in particular to corporators who are now no 
  longer such, and whose rights have been vested in their successor; the word 
  ancestor is more usually applicable to common persons. The predecessor in a 
  corporation stands in the same relation to the successor, that the ancestor 
  does to the heir. 
       3. The term predecessor is also used to designate one who has filled an 
  office or station before the present incumbent.