Antedated

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Occurring or existing before a specified time or event ; marked with a date that is earlier than when it was actually created or signed
2. Established as happening before a particular moment in time ; bearing a date that predates the true date of its writing or signing
3. Placed or recorded at an earlier time than something else ; inscribed with a date that precedes the actual date of the document's creation

Etymology: "Antedate" is a plain compound: the Latin prefix "ante-", meaning "before", attached to "date". The "date" is the Middle English word, borrowed from Old French "date", which came from Late Latin "data", the feminine past participle of "dare", "to give", so a date was originally a thing given or set down, the moment a letter or document was issued. Putting a prefix meaning "before" in front of that noun gives the sense of assigning a date earlier than the true one. The verb "antedate" is therefore a straightforward English formation from Latin parts, and its meaning follows directly from them: to date something as having been made before it actually was. The word "antedated" is simply its past tense and past participle, used here as the verb's past form.

Synonyms: preceded, predated, antedated, forerun, forego

Antonyms: postdated, followed, succeeded, ensued, after