a. [ L. adamantēus. ] Of adamant; hard as adamant. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖a. [ It. andante, p. pr. of andare to go. ] (Mus.) Moving moderately slow, but distinct and flowing; quicker than larghetto, and slower than allegretto. -- n. A movement or piece in andante time. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Poker Playing) Each player's stake, which is put into the pool before (ante) the game begins. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. To put up (an ante). [ 1913 Webster ]

A Latin preposition and prefix; akin to Gr. 'anti`, Skr. anti, Goth. and-, anda- (only in comp.), AS. and-, ond-, (only in comp.: cf. Answer, Along), G. ant-, ent- (in comp.). The Latin ante is generally used in the sense of before, in regard to position, order, or time, and the Gr. 'anti` in that of opposite, or in the place of. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A preceding act. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ antea, ante, before. Cf. Ancient. ] Being before, or in front. [ R. ] J. Fleming. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. belonging to a period before a war, especially the American Civil War. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ See Antecede. ] Antecedent; preceding in time. “Capable of antecedaneous proof.” Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. [ L. antecedere; ante + cedere to go. See Cede. ] To go before in time or place; to precede; to surpass. Sir M. Hale. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act or state of going before in time; precedence. H. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Astron.) An apparent motion of a planet toward the west; retrogradation. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state or condition of being antecedent; priority. Fothherby. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. antecedens, -entis, p. pr. of antecedere: cf. F. antécédent. ] 1. Going before in time; prior; anterior; preceding; as, an event antecedent to the Deluge; an antecedent cause. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Presumptive; as, an antecedent improbability. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Prior; previous; foregoing. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. antécédent. ] 1. That which goes before in time; that which precedes. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Homeric mythology, as well as the Homeric language, has surely its antecedents. Max Miller. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who precedes or goes in front. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

My antecedent, or my gentleman usher. Massinger. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. pl. The earlier events of one's life; previous principles, conduct, course, history. J. H. Newman. [ 1913 Webster ]

If the troops . . . prove worthy of their antecedents, the victory is surely ours. Gen. G. McClellan. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Gram.) The noun to which a relative refers; as, in the sentence “Solomon was the prince who built the temple, ” prince is the antecedent of who. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Logic) (a) The first or conditional part of a hypothetical proposition; as, If the earth is fixed, the sun must move. (b) The first of the two propositions which constitute an enthymeme or contracted syllogism; as, Every man is mortal; therefore the king must die. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Math.) The first of the two terms of a ratio; the first or third of the four terms of a proportion. In the ratio a:b, a is the antecedent, and b the consequent. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Previously; before in time; at a time preceding; as, antecedently to conversion. Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L., fr. antecedere, antecessum. See Antecede, Ancestor. ] 1. One who goes before; a predecessor. [ 1913 Webster ]

The successor seldom prosecuting his antecessor's devices. Sir E. Sandys. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An ancestor; a progenitor. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. antichambre. ] 1. A chamber or apartment before the chief apartment and leading into it, in which persons wait for audience; an outer chamber. See Lobby. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A space viewed as the outer chamber or the entrance to an interior part. [ 1913 Webster ]

The mouth, the antechamber to the digestive canal. Todd & Bowman. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The outer part of the west end of a collegiate or other chapel. Shipley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Arch.) (a) A space inclosed or reserved at the entrance to the choir, for the clergy and choristers. (b) Where a choir is divided, as in some Spanish churches, that division of it which is the farther from the sanctuary. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. pl. See Antœcians. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A name given to that part of the Anglican liturgy for the communion, which precedes the consecration of the elements. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L., fr. antecurrere to run before; ante + currere to run. ] A forerunner; a precursor. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Prior date; a date antecedent to another which is the actual date. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Anticipation. [ Obs. ] Donne. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Antedated; p. pr. & vb. n. Antedating. ] 1. To date before the true time; to assign to an earlier date; ; thus, to antedate a deed or a bond is to give it a date anterior to the true time of its execution. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To precede in time. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To anticipate; to make before the true time. [ 1913 Webster ]

And antedate the bliss above. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

Who rather rose the day to antedate. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. ante- + diluvial. ] Before the flood, or Deluge, in Noah's time. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or relating to the period before the Deluge in Noah's time; hence, antiquated; as, an antediluvian vehicle. -- n. One who lived before the Deluge. [ 1913 Webster ]

prop. n. A genus formerly called genus Comatula.
Syn. -- genus Antedon [ WordNet 1.5 ]

prop. n. A natural family of feather stars; formerly called family Comatulidae.
Syn. -- family Antedonidae [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Something done before another act. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. E. Antefixes L. Antefixa [ L. ante + fixus fixed. ] (Arch.) (a) An ornament fixed upon a frieze. (b) An ornament at the eaves, concealing the ends of the joint tiles of the roof. (c) An ornament of the cymatium of a classic cornice, sometimes pierced for the escape of water. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Med.) A displacement forward of an organ, esp. the uterus, in such manner that its axis is bent upon itself. T. G. Thomas. AS [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. antelop, F. antilope, from Gr. 'anqo`lops, -lopos, Eustathius, “Hexaëm., ” p. 36, the origin of which is unknown. ] (Zool.) One of a group of ruminant quadrupeds, intermediate between the deer and the goat. The horns are usually annulated, or ringed. There are many species in Africa and Asia. [ 1913 Webster ]

The antelope and wolf both fierce and fell. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The common or bezoar antelope of India is Antilope bezoartica. The chamois of the Alps, the gazelle, the addax, and the eland are other species. See Gazelle. The pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra Americana) is found in the Rocky Mountains. See Pronghorn. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. antelucanus; ante + lux light. ] Held or being before light; -- a word applied to assemblies of Christians, in ancient times of persecution, held before light in the morning. “Antelucan worship.” De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. antemeridianus; ante + meridianus belonging to midday or noon. See Meridian. ] Being before noon; in or pertaining to the forenoon. (Abbrev. a. m.) [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. anti- + emetic. ] (Med.) Tending to check vomiting. -- n. A remedy to check or allay vomiting. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ L. ] Before death; -- generally used adjectively; as, an ante-mortem statement; ante-mortem examination. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The ante-mortem statement, or dying declaration made in view of death, by one injured, as to the cause and manner of the injury, is often receivable in evidence against one charged with causing the death. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. Being before the time of Moses. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Being or occurring before the creation of the world. Young. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. antemurale: ante + murus wall. See Mural. ] An outwork of a strong, high wall, with turrets, in front of the gateway (as of an old castle), for defending the entrance. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Before birth. Shelley. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. ] Of or in the Christian church or era, anterior to the first council of Nice, held a. d. 325; as, antenicene faith. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Antennæ [ L. antenna sail-yard; NL., a feeler, horn of an insect. ] 1. (Zool.) A movable, articulated organ of sensation, attached to the heads of insects and Crustacea. There are two in the former, and usually four in the latter. They are used as organs of touch, and in some species of Crustacea the cavity of the ear is situated near the basal joint. In insects, they are popularly called horns, and also feelers. The term in also applied to similar organs on the heads of other arthropods and of annelids. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Electronics) A metallic device, variously shaped, designed for the purpose of either transmitting or receiving radio waves, as for radio or television broadcasting, or for transmitting communication signals. Some types are: whip antenna, antenna tower, horn antenna, dish antenna, directional antenna and rabbit ears. See transmitter, receiver. [ PJC ]

a. (Zool.) Belonging to the antennæ. Owen. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Antenna + -ferous. ] (Zool.) Bearing or having antennæ. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Antenna + -form. ] Shaped like antennæ. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Dim. of antenna. ] (Zool.) A small antenna; -- applied to the smaller pair of antennæ or feelers of Crustacea. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A number that precedes another. [ R. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Preceding marriage; as, an antenuptial agreement. Kent. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. & n. (Anat.) Same as Antorbital. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to the time before the Passover, or before Easter. [ 1913 Webster ]