precursor

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precursor^¹

/pɹɪˈkɜː.sə/ Australia, UK
/ˈpɹiːˌkɜː.sə/ Australia, UK
/pɹɪˈkɜɹ.səɹ/ Canada, US
/ˈpɹiˌkɜɹ.səɹ/ Canada, US
/pɹəˈkøː.sɐ/ New Zealand
/ˈpɹiːˌkøː.sɐ/ New Zealand
/pɹɪˈkʌɹ.səɹ/ Scotland
/ˈpɹiˌkʌɹ.səɹ/ Scotland

Rhymes with -ɜːsə, -iːkɜːsə

Where it comes from

Inherited from Middle English precursour, from Middle French precurseur or its etymon Latin praecursor (“forerunner”). By surface analysis, precurse + -or.

noun precursors · præcursor

That which precurses: a forerunner, predecessor, or indicator of approaching events. Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis:[…]. The evolutionary precursor of photosynthesis is still under debate, and a new study sheds light. The critical component of the photosynthetic system is the “water-oxidizing complex”, made up of m
One of the compounds that participates in the chemical reaction that produces another compound.

precursor^²

/pɹɪˈkɜː.sə/ Australia, UK
/ˈpɹiːˌkɜː.sə/ Australia, UK
/pɹɪˈkɜɹ.səɹ/ Canada, US
/ˈpɹiˌkɜɹ.səɹ/ Canada, US
/pɹəˈkøː.sɐ/ New Zealand
/ˈpɹiːˌkøː.sɐ/ New Zealand
/pɹɪˈkʌɹ.səɹ/ Scotland
/ˈpɹiˌkʌɹ.səɹ/ Scotland

Rhymes with -ɜːsə, -iːkɜːsə

adjective

not comparable, of intersymbol interference Caused by the following symbol.
Opposite: postcursor

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: harbinger, herald, forerunner, predictor, foretaste, prior, antecedent, prelude, premise, precedent, predecessor, preamble, warning, prerequisite, precondition, pioneering

noun

Translations

Every language

noun forerunner, predecessor

Español	precursor
한국어	선구자 seon'guja
日本語	前兆 zenchō, 先駆者 senkusha
中文	先驅 /先驱 xiānqū
Português	precursor, precursora
Français	précurseur, précurseuse
Deutsch	Vorläufer, Vorgänger, Wegbereiter, Vorbote, Anzeichen, Vorreiter
Română	precursor, precursoare
Русский	предше́ственник predšéstvennik, предше́ственница predšéstvennica, предве́стник predvéstnik, предве́стница predvéstnica

noun chemical compound

Español	precursor
한국어	전구체 jeon'guche
日本語	前駆物質 zenku-busshitu, 前駆体 zenku-tai
中文	前體 /前体 qiántǐ
Português	precursor
Français	réactif, précurseur
Deutsch	Edukt, Vorläufer, Präkursor, Vorform, Vorprodukt, Vorläuferverbindung
Italiano	precursore
Русский	предше́ственник predšéstvennik, реакти́в reaktív

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Cite this

MLA

"precursor." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/precursor. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

precursor. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/precursor

Chicago

"precursor." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/precursor.

BibTeX

@misc{precursor_2026,
  title = {precursor},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/precursor},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}