the.com/precursor
The thing that shows up early so something more famous can get all the credit.
means A person or thing that comes before and paves the way for what follows — the forerunner, prototype, or early version that sets the stage.
from From Latin praecursor, 'one who runs ahead,' built from prae ('before') plus currere ('to run') — the same running root that gives us 'current' and 'course.' A precursor is literally a runner sent out front, scouting the path before the main event arrives.
- etymology
- Latin for runner sent ahead
- chemistry use
- molecule that becomes something else via reaction
- symptom medicine
- aura before a migraine counts as one
- irony
- often more interesting than what follows it