antecedence

antecedence (countable and uncountable, plural antecedences)

1. The act of preceding in time or order.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of H. Spenser to this entry?)

2. (astronomy) An apparent motion of a planet toward the west; retrogradation.
3. (geology) A geologic process that explain how and why antecedent rivers can cut through mountain systems instead of going around them.

• antecede
• antecedent