precursor

• Substantiv, das etwas bezeichnet, das einer Sache zeitlich vorausgeht und auf eine Entwicklung hinweist oder das Entstehen von etwas anderem bewirkt; Vorbote oder Vorläufer.

A noun referring to something that comes before and indicates or leads to the development of something else; a forerunner or predecessor.

1. Forerunner or predecessorC1formal

   A person or thing that comes before another of the same kind; a predecessor.

   Vorläufer

   • The steam engine was a precursor to the modern locomotive.
   • These early experiments were precursors to the discovery of DNA.
   • The ancient Greek philosophers were precursors of modern science.

   Synonymeantecedentforebearforerunnerharbingerheraldpredecessorprogenitor

   Antonymedescendantfollowersuccessor

2. Sign or indicatorC1formal

   Something that indicates the approach of something else; an omen.

   Vorbote

   • Dark clouds are often a precursor to a storm.
   • A rise in inflation can be a precursor to an economic downturn.
   • His mild cough was a precursor to a more serious illness.

   Synonymeauguryforerunnerharbingerheraldindicatoromenportentpresagesign