antarctic 
antarctic (ant-ark'tik), . [Early mod. K. 
uutartic, < ME. antartik, < OF. aiitartiguv = It. 
untiirtico, < LL. antarclicitu, southern, < Gr. av- 
TapKTiKuf, southern, < avr- for ant, against, oppo- 
site to, T 0/M.Ti/itif, northern, arctic: see arctic."] 
Opposite to the north or arctic pole; relating 
to the south pole or to the region near it : as, 
the antarctic pole, current, or ocean Antarc- 
tic circle, a circle parallel to the equator and distant 
from the south pole 23' 2', which is the amount of the 
obliquity of the ecliptic. This circle separates the south 
temperate from the south frigid or antarctic zone, and 
forms the southern boundary of the region within which 
tile snn is always above the horizon at noon and below 
it at midnight, or would be so were it not for refraction, 
parallax, and the apparent magnitude of the sun's disk. 
Antares(an-ta'rez), n. [< Gr. 'AvraptK (Ptolemy), 
< avri, against, corresponding to, similar, + 
"\prif, Ares, Mars: so called because this star 
resembles in color the planet Mars. See Ares.'] 
A red star of the first magnitude, the middle 
one of three in the body of the Scorpion ; a Scor- 
pii. See cut under Scorpius. 
antartbritic (ant-iir-thrit'ik), a. and n. [< Gr. 
dvr- for avri, against, + apffpiTiK6f, gouty : see 
arthritic."] I. a. Curing or alleviating gout. 
II. n. A remedy for the gout. 
Also written anti-arthritic. 
antasthmatic (ant-ast-mat'ik), a. and n. [< Gr. 
avr- for avri, against, + do-0/i<m/ir, asthmatic : 
see asthmatic.] I. a. Having the property of 
relieving asthma, as a medicine. 
II. w. A remedy for asthma. 
Also written anti-asthmatic. 
it-a-trof 'ik), a. 
sitional force, before, governing the noun expressed or 
understood, as in init.'in" u<l"if. nut, <i;hir<i</i, <nit*iii> 
iliiin. etc. Such compounds, whether having an adjective 
termination, as in the examples just cited, or lacking it, 
as in ant' -n-nr, are in tart prepositional phrases like the 
Latin "/''' h'/!"xi. nut'' nini-tt'iu (which are also used as 
n. [< ante- + act.] A 
preceding act. Hailcy. 
anteal (un'to-al), . [< L. ante, before: see 
ii nte-.] Being "before or in front. [Rare.] 
ant-eater (ant 'e" ter), ii. An animal that 
feeds upon ants: a name applied to several 
mammals and birds. Specifically (a) In Mam malia : 
(1) ill. The South American edentate quadrupeds of the 
suborder Vi:i-<iiil:ini</in and family MynnecophayidtK, of 
which there are three genera and several species, having 
a slender elongated head, perfectly toothless jaws, and a 
very long extensile tongue, which is covered with viscid 
saliva, by means of which the insects are caught. The 
principal species are the ant-bear or tamanoir, or the great 
or maned ant-eater, Myrmecophaga jubata; the collared 
ant-eater or tamandu, Uyrmteophaga tamandua or Ta- 
uuindua bimttata or tetradactyla; and the little or two-toed 
ant-eater, Cyclothurux didactylus, an arboreal species with 
a prehensile tail. (2) The African aardvark, ground-pig, 
or ant-bear, OryettnfUt capensis, with probably another 
species, 0. (ethiopiuus, of the family Orycteropodidce and 
suborder Fodientia. Both are also known as Cape ant- 
eaters. See cut under aardvark. (3) pi. The pangolins 
or scaly ant-eaters, of the family Manidce and suborder 
.S'yHrtwrt/a, including some six or eight species of Asia and 
Africa, of the genera Manis, fholidotus, and Smutria. See 
cut under pangolin. (4) pi. The Australian marsupials 
of the genus Mynnecobius, as M.fasciatns. (5) The mono- 
trematous mammal Echidna hystrix, known as the acu- 
leated or porcupine ant-eater, and other species of the 
tenns, Echidna. See cut under Echidnidfe. (b)l\\ornith., 
an ant-bird, ant-catcher, or ant-thrush. See ant-thrush. 
Of the ant-eaters, a South American bird of the 
I. a. Efficacious against atrophy or wasting. 
II. n. A medicine used for the cure of atro- 
phy or wasting. 
ant-bear (ant'bar), w. 1. The great or maned 
ant-eater of South America, Myrmecophaya 
Ant-bear (Myrmecophagajiibata 
jubata; the tamanoir. 2. The aardvark, 
ground-pig, or Cape ant-eater of Africa, Orijc- 
tcropus capensis. See ant-eater, (a) (2). 
ant-bird (ant'berd), w. 1. An ant-thrush (which 
see) or ant-eater; an ant-catcher. 2. pi. Spe- 
cifically, the American ant-thrushes, of the fam- 
ily Formicariida;. 
ant-catcher (ant'kach"er), n. A name of the 
ant-bird or ant-thrush of both hemispheres ; any 
ant-bird. See an t-thrnsh, Pittida;, Formicariida:. 
ant-COW (ant'kou), n. An aphid, plant-louse, 
or some similar insect, kept and tended by ants 
for the sake of the sweet fluid which is secreted 
in its body and used as food by the ants. 
ante 1 (an'te), n. [Appar. < L. ante, before, the 
ante being put before the players.] In the 
game of poker, the stake or bet deposited in 
the pool by each player before drawing new 
cards ; also, the receptacle for the stakes. 
ante 1 (an'te), v. i.: pret. and pp. anteed, ppr. 
anteing. [See ante 1 , .] In the game of poker, 
to deposit stakes in the pool or common recep- 
tacle for them : commonly used in the phrase 
to ante up. 
ante 2 (au'te), a. [< F. ente, pp. of enter, in- 
graft, < ML. impotare, ingraft, imp.] In her., 
ingrafted: said of one color or metal broken 
into another by means of dovetailed, nebu!6, 
embattled, or ragul<j edges. Also ente. 
ante-. [< L. ante-, OL. antid-, prefix, L. ante, OL. 
anti, prep, and adv., before, in place or time, 
= Gr. avrt-, avri, against, opposite to, etc., = 
Skt. anti, over against, = Goth. OS. AS., etc., 
and-: see and, and-, and anti-."] A prefix of 
Latin origin, originally only in compounds or 
derivatives taken from the Latin or formed 
from Latin elements, as in antecessor, antepenul- 
timate, antemeridian, etc., but now a familiar 
English formative, meaning before, either in 
place or in time. It forms (a) compound nouns, with 
the accent on the prefix, in which anfr-has the attributive 
ante bellum (an'te bel'um). [L. : ante, before ; 
bellum, ace. of bellum, war: see ante- and bel- 
licose.] Before the war: often used (joined by 
a hyphen) attributively. 
antebrachia, . Plural of an tebrachium. 
antebrachial (an-te-bra'ki-al), n. [<antebraehi- 
um + -al.] 1. In anat., of 'or pertaining to the 
forearm. 2. In Chiroptera, situated in front 
of the axis of the fore limb: applied to the 
volar membrane which extends from the head 
to the wrist and forms a small part of the 
general expansion of the wing. W. H. Flower. 
Usually, but less correctly, written antibra- 
chial. 
antebrachium (an-te-bra'ki-um), it. ; pi. ante- 
brachia (-a). [NL., <? L. ante, before (see ante-), 
+ brachium, the arm : see brachial.] The fore- 
arm, from the elbow to th wrist. Less cor- 
rectly written antibrachium. 
antecedaneous (an"te-se-da'nf-us), a. [< ante- 
cede + -aneous, after succedaneous, q. v.] An- 
tecedent; having priority in time. [Rare.] 
Capable of antecedaneoits proof. 
Barrou 1 , Sermons, II. xxix. 
antecede (an-te-sed'), v. t. ; pret. and pp. ante- 
ceded, ppr. anteceding. [< L. antecedere, go be- 
fore, precede, in space or time, < ante, before 
(see ante-), + cedere, go : see cede.] To go be- 
fore in time, and sometimes in place, rank, or 
logical order ; precede. 
It seems consonant to reason that the fabric of the 
world did not long antecede its motion. 
Sir M. Hale, Orig. of Mankind, i. 82. 
Primarily certain individual claims, and secondarily the 
social welfare furthered by enforcing such claims, furnish 
a warrant for law, anteceding political authority and its 
enactments. //. Spencer, Prin. of Sociol., 534. 
antecedence (an-te-se'dens), . [=F. antece- 
dence, < antecedent: see antecedent.] 1. The act 
of going before, or state of being before, in 
time, place, rank, or logical order; precedence. 
Meanwhile, if we are really to think of freedom as abso- 
lute and perfect in man a perfect freedom from the neces- 
sity of any antecedence we ought logically to think of it 
as free from all influence of God or Devil, as Will, that is, 
in which the Omnipresent is not present and the Omnipo- 
tent has no power. Maudsley, Body and Will, p. 7. 
2. In astroii., an apparent motion of a planet 
from east to west, or contrary to the order of 
the signs of the zodiac. = Syn. 1. Precedence, etc. 
See iirinntif. 
antecedency (an-te-se'den-si), n. Th 
or condition of being antecedent. 
radical element, in which ante- retains its original prepo- 
Fotherby, Atheomastix, p. 308. 
There is always and everywhere an antecedency of the 
conception to the expression. 
Whitney, Life and Growth of Lang., p. 137. 
antecedent (an-te-se'dent), a. and n. [= F. 
antecedent, < L. anteceden(t-)s, ppr. of antecedere, 
go before: see antecede.] I. a. Being before 
in time, place, rank, or logical order; prior; an- 
terior: as, an event antecedent to the deluge. 
antecessor 
There is a sense of riuht ami rong in our nature, ante- 
,;>/ ,il to and independent of experiences of utility. 
A. I!. Wutltli;-, Nat. Selee., p. XA. 
Antecedent Signs, in /m(A/., the precursory symptoms 
of a disease. Antecedent cause, in potAo<.,uie exciting 
eauseof a disea.-e. Antecedent probability, the proba- 
bility of a supposition or hypothesis drawn trorn reason- 
ing or analogy, previous to any observation or evidence 
which is considered as giving it a posteriori probability. 
See antrt-n/rntlii. i- Antecedent will, in mcta/ili., the 
will to do something on condition that something else is 
done. = Syn. See fti-i'i-ion*. 
II. M. 1. One who or that which goes before 
in time or place. 
He's everything indeed, . . . 
Jly ant'-'-i'tli'iit or my gentleman -usher. 
Maesinii,;; city Madam, ii. 2. 
Variations in the functional conditions of the parents 
are the antecedents of those greater uulikenesses which 
their brothers and sistei-s exhibit. 
//. Kiirncr.r, Prin. of Biol., 86. 
2. In gram. : (a) The noun to which a relative 
pronoun refers: as, Solomon was the prince who 
built the temple, where the word prince is the 
antecedent of who. (b) Formerly, the noun to 
which a following pronoun refers, and whose 
repetition is avoided by the use of the pronoun. 
3. In logic: (a) That member of a conditional 
proposition of the form, "If A is, then B is," 
which states, as a hypothesis, the condition of 
the truth of what is expressed in the other mem- 
ber, termed the consequent: in the proposition 
given the antecedent is "if A is." The whole 
proposition amounts to the statement that all possible 
cases of the truth of the antecedent are included among 
the possible cases of the truth of the consequent. (&) 
The premise of a consequence, or syllogism 
in the first figure with the major premise sup- 
pressed. Thus, the argument, "A syllogism has never 
existed ill seiinu, therefore it does not exist in intellectu" 
is a consequence, its premise is the antecedent, and its con- 
clusion the consequent, (c) An event upon which 
another event follows. So used particularly by 
nominalists. An itii'arntuli 1 antecedent, with J. S. Mill, is 
an event upon which another follows according to an in- 
variable rule or uniformity of nature. It does not, there- 
fore, mean (as might be supposed) an event of a kind 
which antecedes every occurrence of another kind of 
event. Thus, lightning is not an invariable antecedent of 
thunder, for thunder does not always follow it ; and this 
although lightning autecedes thunder whenever thunder 
is heard. 
4. In math., the first of two terms of a ratio, or 
that which is compared with the other. Thus, 
if the ratio is that of 2 to 3, or of a to 6, 2 or a 
is the antecedent. 5. In music, a passage pro- 
posed to be answered as the subject of a fugue. 
6. pi. The earlier events or circumstances 
of one's life ; one's origin, previous course, asso- 
ciations, conduct, or avowed principles. 
We have learned lately to speak of men's antecedents^: 
the phrase is newly come up; and it is common to say, "if 
we would know what a man really now is, we must know 
his antecedents," that is, what he has been in past time. 
Abp. Trench. 
antecedental (an^te-se-den'tal), a. Relating to 
what is antecedent 'or goes before Anteceden- 
taJ method, a branch of general geometrical proportion, 
or universal comparison of ratios. 
antecedently (an-te-se'dent-li), ado. 1. Pre- 
viously ; at a time preceding. 
We consider him antecedently to his creation, while he 
yet lay in the barren womb of nothing, and only in the 
number of possibilities. South. 
2. In advance of any observation of the effects 
of a given hypothesis ; on a priori grounds. 
We are clearly proceeding on the assumption that there 
is some fixed relation of cause and effect, in virtue of which 
the means we adopt may be antecedently expected to bring 
about the end we are in pursuit of. 
W. K. Cli/ord, Lectures, I. 81. 
The known facts as to the periodicity of sun-spots, and 
the sympathy between them and the prominences, make 
it antecedently probable that a corresponding variation 
will be found in the corona. C. A. Young, The Sun, p. 230. 
antecessive (an-te-ses'iv), a. [< L. as if *ante- 
cessims, < antecessus, pp. of antecedere : see an- 
tecede.] Antecedent. [Rare.] 
antecessor (an-te-ses'or), n. [< ME. anteces- 
sour, < L. antecessor, foregoer, teacher or pro- 
fessor of law, predecessor in office (the original 
of ancestor, q. v.), < antecedere, go before, pp. 
antecessus: see antecede.] 1. One who goes 
before ; a predecessor. [Now rare.] 
A venerable regard not inferior to any of his antecessont. 
Wood, Athen. Oxon. 
Much higher than any of its antecessors. Cartyle. 
2. A title given among the Romans (a) to 
the soldiers who preceded an army and made 
all necessary arrangements as to camping, sup- 
plies, the scouting service, etc. ; (b) under the 
later empire, to professors of civil law in the 
public schools. 3f. In lair, an ancestor; a 
predecessor; one who possessed certain land 
before the present possessor or holder. 
