Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “predecessor” come from?

Predecessor comes from Late Latin praedecessor, meaning one who goes before or precedes in office.

predecessor (English): One who precedes; one who has preceded another in...

Definitions

  1. One who precedes; one who has preceded another in...

Ancestry of “predecessor”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Late Latinpraedecessor—
2Latinprae-before; in front; in charge
3Proto-Italicprai-—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanpreh₂-before, in front
5Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “predecessor”

  • predecessoress
  • predecessorial
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →