From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishprecursorpre‧cur‧sor /prɪˈkɜːsə $ -ˈkɜːrsər/ noun [countable] formalBEFORE something that happened or existed before something else and influenced its developmentprecursor of/to a precursor of modern jazz
Examples from the Corpus
precursor• We repeated the experiments with a precursor for protein and found that an increase in protein synthesis occurred also.• This correlation argues for the possibility of synthesis of platelet activating factor precursors in cells sensitive to gastrin stimulation.• Basic education remains a necessary precursor to behavior change, especially for the young and those just becoming sexually active.• Its overthrow was a necessary precursor of, and possibly stimulus to, the theories Charles Darwin was developing a century later.• Many gay men today cringe at the thought that this was a major component of the sexuality of our precursors.• Many of these animals, rather than being simple precursors of sophisticates yet to come, were quite unlike anything ever seen elsewhere.• The abacus was the precursor of the modern electronic calculator.• The Office of Strategic Services was the precursor of the CIA.• The precursors of lowered self-esteem and poor coping will also be examined.precursor of/to• Human nature often requires conflict as a precursor to truth.• This is the first treatment designed to specifically target insulin resistance, which is a precursor to diabetes.• Legal reform was a prerequisite for social change, but not automatically the immediate precursor of it.• Many of these animals, rather than being simple precursors of sophisticates yet to come, were quite unlike anything ever seen elsewhere.• But for Jenks thought was always the precursor to action.• Some, the precursors of fungi, could only survive in the dark.• The Office of Strategic Services was the precursor of the CIA.• His parents, he says, were precursors to the counter-culture.Origin precursor (1500-1600) Latin praecursor, from praecurrere “to run in front” 