1. (

• precursor ,
• forerunner

) a person who goes before or announces the coming of another ;

2. (

• harbinger ,
• forerunner ,
• predecessor ,
• herald ,
• precursor

) something that precedes and indicates the approach of something or someone ;

3. (

• antecedent ,
• forerunner

) anything that precedes something similar in time; "phrenology was an antecedent of modern neuroscience" ;