anterior

English

Alternative forms

• anteriour (obsolete)

Etymology

From Latin anterior, comparative of ante (“forward, before”)

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪəriə(r)

Adjective

anterior (not comparable)

1. Before in place.
2. Before or earlier in time; prior to; preceding.
   • 1859, John Stuart Mill, On Liberty:

     anterior to the time when mankind have become capable of being improved by free and equal discussion.

3. (anatomy) Nearer the forward end; nearer the head of an animal or the front of a human.
   • 2013, Carole Hollins, Questions and Answers for Dental Nurses (page 44)

     Transillumination of anterior teeth, using the composite curing light placed labially to shine through the tooth and be viewed using the mouth mirror, shows up any cavities as dark interproximal shadows.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:former

Antonyms

• (before in place): posterior
• (anatomy): posterior

Coordinate terms

• (human anatomy direction adjectives) anterior,‎ distal,‎ dorsal,‎ lateral,‎ medial,‎ posterior,‎ proximal,‎ ventral ^{(Category: en:Medicine) [edit]}
• (dentistry location adjectives) anterior,‎ apical,‎ apicocoronal,‎ axial,‎ buccal,‎ buccoapical,‎ buccocervical,‎ buccogingival,‎ buccolabial,‎ buccolingual,‎ bucco-occlusal,‎ buccopalatal,‎ cervical,‎ coronal,‎ coronoapical,‎ distal,‎ distoapical,‎ distobuccal,‎ distocervical,‎ distocoronal,‎ distofacial,‎ distogingival,‎ distoincisal,‎ distolingual,‎ disto-occlusal,‎ distoclusal,‎ distocclusal,‎ distopalatal,‎ facial,‎ gingival,‎ incisal,‎ incisocervical,‎ inferior,‎ labial,‎ lingual,‎ linguobuccal,‎ linguo-occlusal,‎ mandibular,‎ maxillary,‎ mesial,‎ mesioapical,‎ mesiobuccal,‎ mesiocervical,‎ mesiocoronal,‎ mesiodistal,‎ mesiofacial,‎ mesioincisal,‎ mesiogingival,‎ mesiolingual,‎ mesio-occlusal,‎ mesioclusal,‎ mesiocclusal,‎ mesiopalatal,‎ occlusal,‎ palatal,‎ posterior,‎ proximal,‎ superior,‎ vestibular ^{(Category: en:Dentistry) [edit]}

Derived terms

• anteriorly

Translations

before in place

• Bulgarian: преден (bg) (preden)
• Catalan: anterior (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 前面的 (zh) (qiánmiàn de)

• Esperanto: antaŭa
• Finnish: edellinen (fi), lähempi (fi)
• French: antérieur (fr), précédent (fr)
• Galician: anterior (gl)
• German: Vorder-
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Interlingue:
• Italian: anteriore (it)
• Japanese: 前の (ja) (mae no), 前方の (ja) (zempō no)
• Latin: antīcus
• Portuguese: anterior (pt)
• Romanian: anterior (ro)
• Russian: пере́дний (ru) (perédnij)
• Spanish: anterior (es)

before or earlier in time

• Bulgarian: предшестващ (bg) (predšestvašt)
• Catalan: anterior (ca)
• Dutch: anterieur
• Esperanto: antaŭa
• Finnish: edeltävä (fi), aiempi (fi), aikaisempi (fi), edellinen (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Galician: anterior (gl)
• Interlingue:
• Japanese: 前の (ja) (saki no), 優先する (ja) (yūsen suru), 先行する (ja) (senkō suru), 先んじる (ja) (sakinjiru)
• Portuguese: anterior (pt)
• Russian: предше́ствующий (ru) (predšéstvujuščij)

anatomy: nearer the forward end

• Bulgarian: преден (bg) (preden)
• Catalan: anterior (ca)
• Esperanto: antaŭa
• Finnish: etummainen (fi), etu-, anteriorinen (fi)
• French: antérieur (fr)
• Galician: anterior (gl)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: πρόσθιος (el) (prósthios)
• Interlingue:
• Italian: anteriore (it)
• Portuguese: anterior (pt)
• Spanish: anterior (es)
• Swedish: främre (sv)

Anagrams

• eritoran, erration, rationer

---

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin anterior.

Adjective

anterior m or f (masculine and feminine plural anteriors)

1. anterior (before; preceding)
2. previous

Synonyms

• previ

Antonyms

• posterior

Derived terms

• anterioritat
• anteriorment

Further reading

• “anterior” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “anterior”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “anterior” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “anterior” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

---

Galician

Etymology

From Latin anterior.

Adjective

anterior m or f (plural anteriores)

1. anterior, previous

   Synonyms: precedente, previo

   Antonym: posterior

2. (anatomy) anterior (nearer the forward end)

   Antonym: posterior

Derived terms

• anterioridade
• anteriormente

Further reading

• “anterior”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, since 2012

---

German

Etymology

From Latin anterior.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [anˈteːʀioːɐ̯]
• Hyphenation: an‧te‧ri‧or

Adjective

anterior (not comparable)

1. (anatomy) anterior

Further reading

• “anterior” in Duden online

---

Latin

Etymology

Comparative form of lost adjective *anterus, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énteros. Related to ante.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /anˈte.ri.or/, [än̪ˈt̪ɛriɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /anˈte.ri.or/, [än̪ˈt̪ɛːrior]

Adjective

anterior (neuter anterius, positive ante); third declension

1. anterior, more forward
2. former, previous

Declension

Third-declension comparative adjective.

Number	Singular			Plural
Case / Gender	Masc./Fem.	Neuter		Masc./Fem.	Neuter
Nominative	anterior	anterius		anteriōrēs	anteriōra
Genitive	anteriōris			anteriōrum
Dative	anteriōrī			anteriōribus
Accusative	anteriōrem	anterius		anteriōrēs	anteriōra
Ablative	anteriōre			anteriōribus
Vocative	anterior	anterius		anteriōrēs	anteriōra

Related terms

• ante
• anterius

Descendants

• Catalan: anterior
• English: anterior
• French: antérieur
• Galician: anterior

• Italian: anteriore
• Portuguese: anterior
• Romanian: anterior
• Spanish: anterior

References

• “anterior”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• anterior in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

---

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɐ̃.te.ɾi.ˈo(ʁ)/

Etymology

From Latin anterior.

Adjective

anterior m or f (plural anteriores)

1. anterior
2. previous, preceding

Derived terms

• anterioridade
• anteriormente

Further reading

• Template:R:Priberam

---

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin anterior and French antérieur.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /an.te.riˈor/

Adjective

anterior m or n (feminine singular anterioară, masculine plural anteriori, feminine and neuter plural anterioare)

1. previous

   Synonym: precedent

   Antonym: următor

Declension

Declension of anterior

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	anterior		anterioară	anteriori	anterioare
	definite	anteriorul		anterioara	anteriorii	anterioarele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	anterior		anterioare	anteriori	anterioare
	definite	anteriorului		anterioarei	anteriorilor	anterioarelor

---

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin anterior.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /anteˈɾjoɾ/ [ãn̪.t̪eˈɾjoɾ]

• Audio (Latin America)

  (file)

Adjective

anterior m or f (masculine and feminine plural anteriores)

1. anterior (in time), previous, earlier, former, past

   Synonym: previo

   Antonym: posterior

2. anterior (in space)

   Synonyms: delantero, frontal

   Antonym: posterior

Derived terms

• anterioridad
• anteriormente

Further reading

• “anterior”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014