precursor

English

Alternative forms

• præcursor (chiefly obsolete)

Etymology

From Latin praecursor (“forerunner”)

Noun

precursor (plural precursors)

1. That which precurses, a forerunner, a predecessor, an indicator of approaching events.
   • 2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, American Scientist: 

     Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: […] . The evolutionary precursor of photosynthesis is still under debate, and a new study sheds light. The critical component of the photosynthetic system is the “water-oxidizing complex”, made up of manganese atoms and a calcium atom.

2. (chemistry) One of the compounds that participates in the chemical reaction that produces another compound.

Translations

forerunner, predecessor

• Czech: předchůdce m
• Dutch: voorloper (nl) m
• French: précurseur (fr) m
• German: Vorzeichen (de) n
• Hungarian: előfutár (hu)
• Japanese: 前兆 (ぜんちょう, zenchō), 先駆者 (せんくしゃ, senkusha)

• Polish: prekursor (pl) m
• Russian: предшественник (ru) m (predšéstvennik), предшественница (ru) f (predšéstvennica), предвестник (ru) m (predvéstnik), предвестница (ru) f (predvéstnica)
• Swedish: förelöpare, föregångare (sv) c
• Zulu: imvula (zu) class 9/10

chemical compound

• Dutch: precursor (nl) m
• Finnish: esiaste
• French: réactif (fr) m, précurseur (fr) m
• German: Edukt (de) n

• Hungarian: prekurzor
• Japanese: 前駆物質 (ぜんくぶっしつ, zenku-busshitu), 前駆体 (ぜんくたい, zenku-tai)
• Russian: предшественник (ru) m (predšéstvennik), реактив (ru) m (reaktív)

Anagrams

• procurers

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Dutch

Noun

precursor m (plural precursors, diminutive precursortje n)

1. precursor

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pre'kɵrsɔr/

• Audio

  (file)

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Spanish

Adjective

precursor m (feminine precursora, masculine plural precursores, feminine plural precursoras)

1. precursory, preceding

Noun

precursor m (plural precursores, feminine precursora)

1. precursor