predecessor vs previous

predecessor

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 Usually used to describe an earlier, outdated model. 

  • 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 vertex having a directed path to another vertex 

previous

adj
  • Prior; occurring before something else, either in time or order. 

  • Premature; acting or occurring too soon. 

noun
  • An existing criminal record (short for "previous convictions") 

  • A track record of similar behaviour. 

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