precursor
English
Alternative forms
- præcursor (chiefly obsolete)
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin praecursor (“forerunner”). See precurse, and refer to -or.
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈpɹiːˌkɜɹ.səɹ/, /pɹɨˈkɜɹ.səɹ/
Audio (UK) (file)
Noun
precursor (plural precursors)
- That which precurses: a forerunner, predecessor, or indicator of approaching events.
- 2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist:
- Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: […] . The evolutionary precursor of photosynthesis is still under debate, and a new study sheds light. The critical component of the photosynthetic system is the “water-oxidizing complex”, made up of manganese atoms and a calcium atom.
-
- (chemistry) One of the compounds that participates in the chemical reaction that produces another compound.
Derived terms
- precursory
Related terms
- cursor
Translations
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Adjective
precursor (not comparable)
- (telecommunications, of intersymbol interference) Caused by the following symbol.
Antonyms
- postcursor
See also
- ISI
References
- precursor at OneLook Dictionary Search
- precursor in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
Intersymbol interference on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Anagrams
- procurers
Catalan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin praecuror, praecursorem.
Adjective
precursor (feminine precursora, masculine plural precursors, feminine plural precursores)
- precursory, preceding
Noun
precursor m (plural precursors, feminine precursora)
- precursor
Further reading
- “precursor” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “precursor”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
- “precursor” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “precursor” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Dutch
Etymology
From Latin praecursor.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /preˈkʏrsɔr/
Audio (file)
Noun
precursor m (plural precursors, diminutive precursortje n)
- precursor, forerunner
Portuguese
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin praecursōrem.
Noun
precursor m (plural precursores, feminine precursora, feminine plural precursoras)
- precursor; forerunner (something that led to the development of another)
Related terms
- cursor
Adjective
precursor (feminine precursora, masculine plural precursores, feminine plural precursoras)
- precursory (pertaining to events that will follow)
Further reading
- “precursor” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.
Romanian
Etymology
From French précurseur.
Noun
precursor m (plural precursori)
- precursor
Declension
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) precursor | precursorul | (niște) precursori | precursorii |
genitive/dative | (unui) precursor | precursorului | (unor) precursori | precursorilor |
vocative | precursorule | precursorilor |
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin praecuror, praecursorem.
Adjective
precursor (feminine precursora, masculine plural precursores, feminine plural precursoras)
- precursory, preceding
Noun
precursor m (plural precursores, feminine precursora, feminine plural precursoras)
- precursor, forerunner
Related terms
- cursor
Further reading
- “precursor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014