Definition:Conditional/Antecedent

Definition
In a conditional $p \implies q$, the statement $p$ is the antecedent.

Also known as
Some authors use the term premise, but there is already a use for that term.

Other authors use the term hypothesis, but this word has other applications (see hypothesis), so it is preferred not to be used in that context.

The archaic terms implicans and protasis can sometimes be found.

Also defined as
Let $P = a \circ b$ be an expression.

The term $a$ is known as the antecedent of $P$.

Linguistic Note
The word antecedent is usually found in classical mathematical literature, notably Euclid's.

The word comes from the Greek, and literally means leading term.

It is pronounced an-tee-see-dent.