antĕcessĭo, ōnis, f. [antecedo].
I A going before , preceding : quae in orbibus conversiones antecessionesque eveniunt, Cic. Tim. 10.—
II That which goes before , the antecedent cause , as opp. to the final cause (perh. only in Cic.): homo causas rerum videt earumque progressus et quasi antecessiones non ignorat, and understands their course forwards and backwards , i. e. can reason from cause to effect and from effect to cause, Cic. Off. 1, 4, 11: consecutio, antecessio, repugnantia, id. Top. 13.