Part 275

The successor seldom prosecuting his antecessor's devices. Sir E. Sandys.

2. An ancestor; a progenitor. [Obs.]

An"te*cham`ber (&?;), n. [Cf. F. antichambre.] 1. A chamber or apartment before the chief apartment and leading into it, in which persons wait for audience; an outer chamber. See Lobby.

2. A space viewed as the outer chamber or the entrance to an interior part.

The mouth, the antechamber to the digestive canal. Todd & Bowman.

An"te*chap`el (&?;), n. The outer part of the west end of a collegiate or other chapel. Shipley.

An*te"cians (&?;), n. pl. See Antœcians.

An`te*com*mun"ion (&?;), n. A name given to that part of the Anglican liturgy for the communion, which precedes the consecration of the elements.

An`te*cur"sor (&?;), n. [L., fr. antecurrere to run before; ante + currere to run.] A forerunner; a precursor. [Obs.]

An"te*date` (&?;), n. 1. Prior date; a date antecedent to another which is the actual date.

2. Anticipation. [Obs.] Donne.

An"te*date` (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Antedated; p. pr. & vb. n. Antedating.] 1. To date before the true time; to assign to an earlier date; thus, to antedate a deed or a bond is to give it a date anterior to the true time of its execution.

2. To precede in time.

3. To anticipate; to make before the true time.

And antedate the bliss above. Pope.

Who rather rose the day to antedate. Wordsworth.

An`te*di*lu"vi*al (&?;), a. [Pref. ante- + diluvial.] Before the flood, or Deluge, in Noah's time.

An`te*di*lu"vi*an (&?;), a. Of or relating to the period before the Deluge in Noah's time; hence, antiquated; as, an antediluvian vehicle. -- n. One who lived before the Deluge.

An"te*fact` (&?;), n. Something done before another act. [Obs.]

An"te*fix` (&?;), n.; pl. E. Antefixes (&?;); L. Antefixa (&?;). [L. ante + fixus fixed.] (Arch.) (a) An ornament fixed upon a frieze. (b) An ornament at the eaves, concealing the ends of the joint tiles of the roof. (c) An ornament of the cymatium of a classic cornice, sometimes pierced for the escape of water.

An`te*flex"ion (&?;), n. (Med.) A displacement forward of an organ, esp. the uterus, in such manner that its axis is bent upon itself. T. G. Thomas.

Ant" egg` (&?;). One of the small white egg-shaped pupæ or cocoons of the ant, often seen in or about ant-hills, and popularly supposed to be eggs.

An"te*lope (n"t*lp), n. [OF. antelop, F. antilope, from Gr. 'anqo`lops, -lopos, Eustathius, "Hexaëm.," p. 36, the origin of which is unknown.] (Zoöl.) One of a group of ruminant quadrupeds, intermediate between the deer and the goat. The horns are usually annulated, or ringed. There are many species in Africa and Asia.

The antelope and wolf both fierce and fell. Spenser.

The common or bezoar antelope of India is Antilope bezoartica. The chamois of the Alps, the gazelle, the addax, and the eland are other species. See Gazelle. The pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra Americana) is found in the Rocky Mountains. See Pronghorn.

An`te*lu"can (&?;), a. [L. antelucanus; ante + lux light.] Held or being before light; -- a word applied to assemblies of Christians, in ancient times of persecution, held before light in the morning. "Antelucan worship." De Quincey.

An`te*me*rid"i*an (&?;), a. [L. antemeridianus; ante + meridianus belonging to midday or noon. See Meridian.] Being before noon; in or pertaining to the forenoon. (Abbrev. a. m.)

Ant`e*met"ic (&?;), a. [Pref. anti- + emetic.] (Med.) Tending to check vomiting. -- n. A remedy to check or allay vomiting.