Antedating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Giving a document, event, or item a date that is earlier than the actual date it was created or occurred
2. Marking or recording a date on a record or agreement that precedes the true time of its origin
3. Setting a date before the real one to make something seem to have happened earlier than it actually did

Etymology: Antedating is a compound of two parts that each carry a long history. The "ante-" prefix comes from Latin "ante," meaning "before" or "in front of," which English took directly as a productive prefix. The second part is "date," which passed into English through Old French "date" from Late Latin "data," a feminine form of "datus," the past participle of "dare," meaning "to give." A date, in other words, is literally something given, a point on the calendar assigned to an event. Put the two together and you get the act of giving something an earlier date than it truly has. The verb is a plain, transparent coinage of this kind, built from familiar pieces rather than borrowed whole, so its meaning can be read straight from its parts: to date something before it was actually made or happened. The "ante-" half is the same prefix found in words like "antedate's" relatives "antecedent" and "anterior," all of which share the sense of coming before.

Synonyms: preceding, predating