precursor
noun
[ prɪˈkəːsə ]
• a person or thing that comes before another of the same kind; a forerunner.
• "a three-stringed precursor of the violin"
Similar:
forerunner,
predecessor,
forefather,
father,
parent,
antecedent,
ancestor,
forebear,
progenitor,
pioneer,
trailblazer,
Origin:
late Middle English: from Latin praecursor, from praecurs- ‘preceded’, from praecurrere, from prae ‘beforehand’ + currere ‘to run’.
