anterior

English

Alternative forms

• anteriour(obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed fromLatinanterior(“that is before, foremost”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation)IPA^(key):/anˈtɪə.ɹi.ə/
• (General American)IPA^(key):/ænˈtɪɹ.i.ɚ/

  • Audio(General American):

    (file)

• Rhymes:-ɪəɹiə(ɹ)

Adjective

anterior(notcomparable)

1. (anatomy)Nearer theforwardend, especially in thefrontof the body; nearer theheadorforepartof an animal.
   • 2013,Carole Hollins,Questions and Answers for Dental Nurses,page44:

     Transillumination ofanteriorteeth, 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.

   1. (botany)(of a part of aflowerorleaf)Situated furtherawayfrom themainstem.
   2. (phonetics)Pronouncedwith anobstructionlocated in front of thepalato-alveolarregion of themouth,e.g. b, p, d, t.
3. (formal)Comingbeforeorearlierintimeordevelopment,priorto,preceding.
   • 1859,John Stuart Mill,On Liberty:

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

Synonyms

• See alsoThesaurus:former

Antonyms

• 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

• anterior auricular muscle
• anterior cerebral artery
• anterior chamber
• anterior cingulate cortex
• anterior commissure
• anterior communicating artery
• anterior cruciate ligament
• anterior deltoid
• anterior inferior cerebellar artery
• anteriority
• anteriorization
• anteriorize
• anteriorly,anteriorally
• anterior median fissure
• anteriormost
• anteriorness
• anterior pituitary
• anterior pituitary gland
• anterior scalene muscle
• anterior spinal artery
• anterior superior iliac spine
• anterior triangle
• anteriorward
• antero-
• centroanterior
• distoanterior
• dorsoanterior
• duplicitas anterior
• inferoanterior
• lateroanterior
• medioanterior
• mentoanterior
• mesoanterior
• midanterior
• nonanterior
• occipitoanterior
• posteroanterior,posterioanterior
• sacroanterior
• subanterior
• superoanterior
• tibialis anterior
• ventroanterior

Related terms

• auricularis anterior
• past anterior

Translations

anatomy: nearer the forward end

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

  Mandarin:Trước bộ(zh)(qiánbù)

• Esperanto:antaŭa
• Finnish:etummainen(fi),etu-(fi),anteriorinen(fi)
• French:antérieur(fr)
• Galician:anterior(gl)
• German:frontal(de),vorder(de)
• Greek:πρόσθιος(el)(prósthios)
• Italian:anteriore(it)
• Portuguese:anterior(pt)
• Romanian:anterior(ro)
• Russian:передний(ru)(perednij)
• Spanish:anterior(es)
• Swedish:främre(sv)
• Ukrainian:пере́дній(perédnij)

before or earlier in time

• Bulgarian:предшестващ(bg)(predšestvašt)
• Catalan:anterior(ca)
• Dutch:anterieur(nl)
• Esperanto:antaŭa
• Finnish:edeltävä(fi),aiempi(fi),aikaisempi(fi),edellinen(fi)
• Galician:anterior(gl)
• German:früher(de),vorherig(de)
• Japanese:Trước の(ja)(saki no),Ưu tiên する(ja)(yūsen suru),Đi trước する(ja)(senkō suru),Trước んじる(ja)(sakinjiru)
• Portuguese:anterior(pt)
• Romanian:anterior(ro)
• Russian:предше́ствующий(ru)(predšéstvujuščij)

References

• “anterior”,inLexico,Dictionary;Oxford University Press,2019–2022.
• “anterior”,inMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary,Springfield, Mass.:Merriam-Webster,1996–present.

Anagrams

• eritoran,erration,rationer

Catalan

Etymology

BorrowedfromLatinanteriōrem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):(Central)[ən.tə.ɾiˈor]
• IPA^(key):(Balearic)[ən.tə.ɾiˈo]
• IPA^(key):(Valencia)[an.te.ɾiˈoɾ]

Adjective

anteriormorf(masculine and feminine pluralanteriors)

1. anterior(before; preceding)
2. previous
3. (phonetics,phonology)front

Synonyms

• previ

Antonyms

• posterior

Derived terms

• anterioritat
• anteriorment
• quasianterior

Further reading

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

Galician

Etymology

FromLatinanterior.

Adjective

anteriormorf(pluralanteriores)

1. anterior,previous

   Synonyms:precedente,previo

   Antonym:posterior

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

   Antonym:posterior

Derived terms

• anterioridade
• anteriormente

Further reading

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

German

Etymology

BorrowedfromLatinanterior.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/anˈteːʁioːɐ̯/
• Hyphenation:an‧te‧ri‧or

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

anterior(strong nominative masculine singularanteriorer,not comparable)

1. (anatomy)anterior

Declension

Positive forms ofanterior(uncomparable)

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		eristanterior	sieistanterior	esistanterior	siesindanterior
strong declension (without article)	nominative	anteriorer	anteriore	anteriores	anteriore
	genitive	anterioren	anteriorer	anterioren	anteriorer
	dative	anteriorem	anteriorer	anteriorem	anterioren
	accusative	anterioren	anteriore	anteriores	anteriore
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	deranteriore	dieanteriore	dasanteriore	dieanterioren
	genitive	desanterioren	deranterioren	desanterioren	deranterioren
	dative	demanterioren	deranterioren	demanterioren	denanterioren
	accusative	denanterioren	dieanteriore	dasanteriore	dieanterioren
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	einanteriorer	eineanteriore	einanteriores	(keine)anterioren
	genitive	einesanterioren	eineranterioren	einesanterioren	(keiner)anterioren
	dative	einemanterioren	eineranterioren	einemanterioren	(keinen)anterioren
	accusative	einenanterioren	eineanteriore	einanteriores	(keine)anterioren

Further reading

• “anterior”inDudenonline
• “anterior”inDigitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Latin

Etymology

Comparative form of lost adjective*anterus,fromProto-Indo-European*h₂énteros.Related toante.

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

anterior(neuteranterius);third declension(Late Latin)

1. That isbefore,moreforward,foremost;(oftime)former,previous;anterior.

Inflection

Third-declensioncomparative 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

• anterius(adverb)

Descendants

Descendants ofanteriorin other languages

• →Catalan:anterior
• →English:anterior
• →French:antérieur
• →Galician:anterior
• →Italian:anteriore
• →Portuguese:anterior
• →Romanian:anterior
• →Spanish:anterior

References

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

Portuguese

Etymology

BorrowedfromLatinanteriōrem.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil)IPA^(key):/ɐ̃.te.ɾiˈoʁ/[ɐ̃.te.ɾɪˈoh],(faster pronunciation)/ɐ̃.teˈɾjoʁ/[ɐ̃.teˈɾjoh]

• (Brazil)IPA^(key):/ɐ̃.te.ɾiˈoʁ/[ɐ̃.te.ɾɪˈoh],(faster pronunciation)/ɐ̃.teˈɾjoʁ/[ɐ̃.teˈɾjoh]
  • (São Paulo)IPA^(key):/ɐ̃.te.ɾiˈoɾ/[ɐ̃.te.ɾɪˈoɾ],(faster pronunciation)/ɐ̃.teˈɾjoɾ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro)IPA^(key):/ɐ̃.te.ɾiˈoʁ/[ɐ̃.te.ɾɪˈoχ],(faster pronunciation)/ɐ̃.teˈɾjoʁ/[ɐ̃.teˈɾjoχ]
  • (Southern Brazil)IPA^(key):/ɐ̃.te.ɾiˈoɻ/[ɐ̃.te.ɾɪˈoɻ],(faster pronunciation)/ɐ̃.teˈɾjoɻ/

• (Portugal)IPA^(key):/ɐ̃.tɨˈɾjoɾ/

• (Portugal)IPA^(key):/ɐ̃.tɨˈɾjoɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal)IPA^(key):/ɐ̃.tɨˈɾjo.ɾi/

• Hyphenation:an‧te‧ri‧or

Adjective

anteriormorf(pluralanteriores)

1. anterior
2. previous,preceding

Derived terms

• anterioridade
• anteriormente

Further reading

• “anterior”,inDicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa(in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam,2008–2024

Romanian

Etymology

BorrowedfromLatinanteriorandFrenchantérieur.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/an.te.riˈor/

Adjective

anteriormorn(feminine singularanterioară,masculine pluralanteriori,feminine and neuter pluralanterioare)

1. previous

   Synonym:precedent

   Antonym:următor

Declension

Declension ofanterior

		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

BorrowedfromLatinanterior.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/anteˈɾjoɾ/[ãn̪.t̪eˈɾjoɾ]

• Audio(Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes:-oɾ
• Syllabification:an‧te‧rior

Adjective

anteriormorf(masculine and feminine pluralanteriores)

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
• condicional anterior
• cubital anterior
• pretérito anterior

Further reading

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