Noun

{{examples-right, sense=linguistics: expression referred to by pronoun, examples= * In “The policeman asked the boy what he was doing.”, the phrase “the boy” is the antecedent of the pronoun “he”. * In the sentence “I saw my girlfriend yesterday wearing her old jacket which is odd because she almost never wears it.”, the phrase “my girlfriend” is the antecedent of “her” and “old jacket” is the antecedent of “it”.}} (en noun)

Any thing that precedes another thing, especially the cause of the second thing.

An ancestor.

(grammar) A word, phrase or clause referred to by a pronoun.

* Fowler

[W]hereas it might seem orderly that, as who'' is appropriated to persons, so ''that'' should have been appropriated to things the antecedent of ''that is often personal.

*

One such condition can be formulated in terms of the
c-command relation defined in (9) above: the relevant condition is given in (16)
below:
(16)    C-COMMAND CONDITION ON ANAPHORS
        An anaphor must have an appropriate c-commanding antecedent

(logic) The conditional part of a hypothetical proposition.

(rfex)

(math) The first term of a ratio, i.e. the term a'' in the ratio ''a:b , the other being the consequent.

Noun

A system of rules and principles for speaking and writing a language.

(uncountable, linguistics) The study of the internal structure of words (morphology) and the use of words in the construction of phrases and sentences (syntax).

A book describing the rules of grammar of a language.

(computing theory) A formal system specifying the syntax of a language.

* 2006 , Patrick Blackburn · Johan Bos · Kristina Striegnitz, Learn Prolog Now! , §8.2

Because real lexicons are big and complex, from a software engineering perspective it is best to write simple grammars that have a simple, well-defined way, of pulling out the information they need from vast lexicons. That is, grammars should be thought of as separate entities which can access the information contained in lexicons. We can then use specialised mechanisms for efficiently storing the lexicon and retrieving data from it.

(computing theory) A formal system defining a formal language

The basic rules or principles of a field of knowledge or a particular skill.

* 2011 , (Javier Solana) and (Daniel Innerarity), Project Syndicate, The New Grammar of Power :

We must learn a new grammar of power in a world that is made up more of the common good – or the common bad – than of self-interest or national interest.

(British, archaic) A textbook.

a grammar of geography

(UK) A grammar school.

* 2012, Graeme Paton, A green light for more grammars ?'' (in ''The Daily Telegraph , 11 January 2012)