anterior

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: an=te=ri=or

CIDE DICTIONARY

anterior, a. [L. anterior, comp. of ante before.].

•  Before in time; antecedent.  [1913 Webster]

  "Antigonus, who was anterior to Polybius."  [1913 Webster]
•  Before, or toward the front, in place; as, the anterior part of the mouth; -- opposed to posterior.  [1913 Webster]

  " 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.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

anterior, adj.
1 nearer the front.
2 (often foll. by to) earlier, prior.

Derivative

anteriority n. anteriorly adv.

Etymology

F ant{eacute}rieur or L anterior f. ante before

THESAURUS

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

ROGET THESAURUS

anterior

Precedence

N precedence, coming before, the lead, le pas, superiority, importance, antecedence, antecedency, anteriority, precursor, priority, precession, anteposition, epacme, preference, preceding, precedent, antecedent, anterior, prior, before, former, foregoing, beforementioned, abovementioned, aforementioned, aforesaid, said, precursory, precursive, prevenient, preliminary, prefatory, introductory, prelusive, prelusory, proemial, preparatory, before, in advance, seniores priores, prior tempore prior jure.

Priority

N priority, antecedence, anteriority, precedence, pre-existence, precession, precursor, the past, premises, prior, previous, preceding, precedent, anterior, antecedent, pre- existing, pre-existent, former, foregoing, aforementioned, before- mentioned, abovementioned, aforesaid, said, introductory, before, prior to, earlier, previously, afore, aforehand, beforehand, ere, theretofore, erewhile, ere then, ere now, before then, before now, erewhile, already, yet, beforehand, on the eve of, prior tempore prior jure.

Front

N front, fore, forepart, foreground, face, disk, disc, frontage, facade, proscenium, facia, frontispiece, anteriority, obverse (of a medal or coin), fore rank, front rank, van, vanguard, advanced guard, outpost, first line, scout, brow, forehead, visage, physiognomy, phiz, countenance, mut, rostrum, beak, bow, stem, prow, prore, jib, pioneer, metoposcopy, fore, anterior, front, frontal, before, in front, in the van, in advance, ahead, right ahead, forehead, foremost, in the foreground, in the lee of, before one's face, before one's eyes, face to face, vis-a-vis, front a front, formosa muta commendatio est, frons est animi janua, Human face divine, imago animi vultus est indices oculi, sea of upturned faces.