anterior

anterior
    adj 1: of or near the head end or toward the front plane of a
           body [ant: {posterior}]
    2: earlier in time [syn: {anterior}, {prior(a)}]
    n 1: a tooth situated at the front of the mouth; "his
         malocclusion was caused by malposed anteriors" [syn: {front
         tooth}, {anterior}]
    

Anterior \An*te"ri*or\, a. [L. anterior, comp. of ante before.]
   1. Before in time; antecedent.
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            Antigonus, who was anterior to Polybius. --Sir G. C.
                                                  Lewis.
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   2. Before, or toward the front, in place; as, the anterior
      part of the mouth; -- opposed to posterior.
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   Note: In comparative anatomy, anterior often signifies at or
         toward the head, cephalic; and in human anatomy it is
         often used for ventral.
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   Syn: Antecedent; previous; precedent; preceding; former;
        foregoing.
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55 Moby Thesaurus words for "anterior":
      album, ana, analects, antecedent, anticipatory, chief, ci-devant,
      collection, compilation, delectus, earlier, early, elder, exordial,
      first, florilegium, fore, foregoing, forehand, foremost, former,
      forward, front, frontal, garland, head, headmost, inaugural,
      initiatory, leading, miscellany, older, omnibus, posy, precedent,
      preceding, precessional, precurrent, precursory, preexistent,
      prefatory, preliminary, preludial, prelusive, preparatory,
      prevenient, previous, primary, prime, prior, proemial,
      propaedeutic, senior, treasure-house, treasury