Etymograph

English

antecessor

Antecessor comes from Middle English antecessour ‘a predecessor’.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500antecessour1‘a predecessor’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1547antecessor1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English antecessor
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1547, Arthur Kelton: “[…] some, hath iudged wrongfully As in reproche, of…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500antecessourWiktionary, English antecessor‘a predecessor’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1547antecessorWiktionary, English antecessor. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1547, Arthur Kelton: “[…] some, hath iudged wrongfully As in reproche, of…”

Linked words

through Latin cedo

process, success, necessary, procedure, succeed, cease, accessible, excessive, excess, precedent, concede, recession, concession, predecessor, accession, recess, cessation, secession, cede, intercession, 27 more

Today it means

noun A person or thing that precedes or goes before.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “antecessor”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Middle English antecessour / antecessor

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