Where does “antecedent” come from?
antecedent (Middle English) comes from Old French antecedent, from Latin antecēdēns, from Latin antecēdō, from Latin cēdō, from Proto-Italic kedō, from Proto-Italic ke, from Indo-European *ḱe.
Ancestry of “antecedent”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | antecedent | — |
| 2 | Latin | antecēdēns | antecedent |
| 3 | Latin | antecēdō | to precede (go before or in front of) |
| 4 | Latin | cēdō | to go, move, proceed, go along, move along |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | kedō | give here! |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | ke | here |
| 7 | Indo-European | *ḱe | — |