Anterior

How to spell anterior

8 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce anterior

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does anterior mean?

1. adjectiveSituated at or towards the front of something, or coming before in position or time.

Anterior in a sentence

• The surgeon examined the anterior wall of the abdomen before operating.

• A crack ran along the anterior surface of the building, facing the main road.

Where does anterior come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes directly from the Latin anterior, which means 'further forward' or 'more to the front'. It is the comparative form of the preposition and prefix ante, meaning simply 'before' or 'in front of', so the literal sense is 'more before'. English adopted the term in the 1500s, largely through the language of anatomy and natural science, where precise words for position were needed. The same ante root sits inside familiar words such as antecedent (something that goes before) and even ante in card games, where you put money in before the deal. Remembering that ante means 'before' helps fix the spelling, since the ending is the comparative -erior, not the more common -ier seen in everyday words.

How the word is built

• ante- (before, in front)
• -erior (comparative suffix forming 'further forward')