predecessor

UK: /ˈpriːdɪsɛsə^r/

US: /ˈprɛdəˌsɛsɚ/

US: (pred′ə ses′ər, pred′ə ses′ər or, esp. Brit., prē′də ses′ər)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

pred•e•ces•sor /ˈprɛdəˌsɛsɚ/   n. [countable]

1. one who comes before another in an office, etc.:
   My predecessor was coming to me to ask for a job!
2. something replaced by something else:
   This car's predecessor lacks many of the features of the new version.

See -cede-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

pred•e•ces•sor  (pred′ə ses′ər, pred′ə ses′ər or, esp. Brit., prē′də ses′ər), n. 

1. a person who precedes another in an office, position, etc.
2. something succeeded or replaced by something else:
   The new monument in the park is more beautiful than its predecessor.
3. [Archaic.] an ancestor;
   forefather.

• Late Latin praedēcessor, equivalent. to Latin prae- pre- + dēcessor retiring official, itself equivalent. to dēced-, variant stem of dēcēdere to withdraw (dē- de- + cēdere to yield; see cede) + -tor -tor, with dt ss
• Anglo-French
• Middle English predecessour 1250–1300

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

predecessor / ˈpriːdɪˌsɛsə/ noun

1. a person who precedes another, as in an office
2. something that precedes something else
3. an ancestor; forefather

Etymology: 14th Century: via Old French from Late Latin praedēcessor, from prae before + dēcēdere to go away, from dē away + cēdere to go