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Vorläufer — meaning in English

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English meaning

  • ancestor noun A person from whom one is descended, further back than a grandparent; a forebear.
  • forerunner noun A runner at the front or ahead.
  • precursor noun Something or someone that comes before and leads to, or signals, what follows.
  • predecessor noun A person who held a job, role, or position before the current person.
  • prequel noun A film, book or series that is made after an existing story but set at an earlier point in it, showing what happened before the original.
  • progenitor noun A forefather, any of a person's direct ancestors.

Senses

Vorläufer is used for these senses in English:

  • ancestor An earlier type; a progenitor
  • forerunner A precursor or harbinger, a warning ahead.
  • precursor That which precurses: a forerunner, predecessor, or indicator of approaching events.
  • precursor (chemistry) One of the compounds that participates in the chemical reaction that produces another compound.
  • predecessor One who precedes; one who has preceded another in any state, position, office, etc.; one whom another follows or comes after, in any office or position.
  • predecessor A model or type of machinery or device which precedes the current (or later) one. Usually used to describe an earlier, outdated model.
  • prequel (narratology) In a series of works, an installment that is set chronologically before its predecessor, especially the original narrative or (perhaps improper usage) any narrative work with at least one sequel.
  • progenitor (figuratively) A predecessor of something, especially if also a precursor or model.

ancestor — full definition

  1. noun A person from whom one is descended, further back than a grandparent; a forebear.
  2. noun An earlier version or form of something that later developed into its modern form.

forerunner — full definition

  1. noun A runner at the front or ahead.
  2. noun By extension, a non-competitor who leads out the competitors on to the circuit, or who runs/rides the course prior to competitor trials, usually testing or checking the way.
  3. noun A precursor or harbinger, a warning ahead.
  4. noun A forebear, an ancestor, a predecessor.

Related German words