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precursor

Pronunciation: /prɪˈkəːsə/

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Definition of precursor

noun

  • a person or thing that comes before another of the same kind; a forerunner:a three-stringed precursor of the violin
  • a substance from which another is formed, especially by metabolic reaction:pepsinogen is the inactive precursor of pepsin

Origin:

late Middle English: from Latin praecursor, from praecurs- 'preceded', from praecurrere, from prae 'beforehand' + currere 'to run'

Spelling help

The ending of precursor is spelled -or.

precursor in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of precursor in the US English dictionary

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