antecedent vs predecessor

antecedent

noun
  • A word, phrase or clause referred to by a pronoun. 

  • The first term of a ratio, i.e. the term a in the ratio a:b, the other being the consequent. 

  • An ancestor. 

  • Previous principles, conduct, history, etc. 

  • Any thing that precedes another thing, especially the cause of the second thing. 

  • The first of two subsets of a sequent, consisting of all the sequent's formulae which are valuated as true. 

  • The conditional part of a hypothetical proposition, i.e. p→q, where p is the antecedent, and q is the consequent. 

adj
  • Earlier, either in time or in order. 

  • Presumptive. 

predecessor

noun
  • 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. 

  • A model or type of machinery or device which precedes the current (or later) one. Usually used to describe an earlier, outdated model. 

  • A vertex having a directed path to another vertex 

How often have the words antecedent and predecessor occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )