See Also: precursor(medicine)
precursor(dictionary)
precursor(dictionary)
Precursor cells(health)
Precursor Chemicals(law)
enzyme precursor(medicine)
angiotensin precursor(medicine)
amyloid precursor protein(medicine)
amyloid beta-protein precursor(medicine)
Amine Precursor Uptake and Decarboxylation(medicine)

precursor (iou)



precursor noun & adjective. LME.
[Latin praecursor, from praecurs- pa. ppl stem of praecurrere run before, precede, from prae PRE- + currere run: see -OR.]
A. noun.
A person who or thing which precedes another as a forerunner or presage; a person who or thing which heralds the approach of someone or something else, a harbinger. LME.
E. H. Erikson Infantile fears..are the precursors of many..anxieties entertained by adults A. N. Wilson There is no evidence that Jesus, or his precursor John, taught pacifism as such.
A predecessor. L18.
M. Arnold Cowper..by his genuine love of nature was a precursor of Wordsworth A. C. Clarke A score of ships..each with more advanced technology than its precursor.
a. A substance, esp. a naturally occurring one, from which another is formed by metabolism, decay, or other (esp. chemical) process. L19.
Scientific American Ozone and its precursor, atomic oxygen, are destroyed by catalytic reactions.
b. Biology. A cell which precedes another in a process of differentiation. E20.
b. attrib. or as adjective. That is a precursor. M19.
precursorship noun (a) the status or function of a precursor; (b) antecedence, prior occurrence: M19.