In English, we first used the word "precursor" to describe the character John the Baptist from the Bible. He's the one who comes before Jesus, preaching earnestly, saying to everyone "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." For that reason, the word "precursor" can sound solemn, serious, or dignified, or at least historial or academic.

When that's the tone you're going for, talk about one thing being a precursor of the other things that came later. Or a precursor to the things that came later.

For example, you might talk about technological precursors; you might point out how your chunky Nokia phone from 2002 with its pixelated games was the precursor to the smartphone you carry today. Or you might say that an accusation is a precursor to a lawsuit, that a certain symptom may be a precursor to cancer, that a single small storm is a precursor to a powerful stormy season, etc.

Precursors can be good, bad, or neutral. They can be events, disasters, accomplishments, pieces of technology, fights, partnerships—whatever!

"Raising a shout of triumph, he sprang toward the defenseless Cora, sending his keen axe as the dreadful precursor of his approach. The tomahawk grazed her shoulder, and cutting the withes which bound her to the tree, left the maiden at liberty to fly."
 — James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans, 1826

"Tiny, primitive and sometimes quite strange, [shrew-like mammals called Krusatodon] were the precursors of the thousands of different mammals living today, from cats to humans to whales."
 — Helen Briggs, BBC, 24 July 2024

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Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "precursor" without saying "forerunner" or "vanguard."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "(Something happened), the precursor to (the next thing)."

Example 1: "Sitting at the table with her book, Taylor giggles and clears her throat, the precursor to reading the funny bit aloud for us."

Example 2: "My neck was starting to itch, the telltale precursor to an outbreak of hives."
 — Jacqueline Kelly, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, 2009

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for this month is "The LOL Is In the Details."

I'll give you a vague version of a quote from a funny writer or speaker, then prompt you to liven it up with detail. To see the original quote, scroll all the way down.

Here's an example:

"Don't order any of the faerie food… It tends to make humans a little crazy. One minute you’re snacking, the next minute you’re doing something insane."

Snacking on what? Doing what?

You might say, "One minute you’re sampling a mushroom tart, the next minute you’re doing the Macarena."

And the writer's original version was "One minute you're munching on a faerie plum, the next minute you're running naked down Madison Avenue with antlers on your head."
— Cassandra Clare, City of Bones, 2007

Try this one today:

     Zapp: Kif, get me ten cases of Pert and Popular [lotion].

     Kif: What shall I do with your Jergens, sir?

     Zapp: Give it to someone else.

Give it how? Give it to what kind of person, with what kind of need?

review this word:

1. The most precise opposite of a PRECURSOR would be a POSTCURSOR, a word that, unfortunately, doesn't seem to exist. So, a pretty close opposite of a PRECURSOR is

A. an ANTECEDENT: a thing that comes before.
B. a COINCIDENCE: a thing that comes at the same time.
C. a SUBSEQUENT or CONSEQUENCE: a thing that comes after.

2. Jared M. Diamond wrote, "From a patent lawyer's perspective, the ideal invention is one that arises without any precursors... We are regularly told, 'James Watt invented the steam engine in 1769,' supposedly inspired by watching steam rise from a teakettle's spout. Unfortunately for this splendid fiction, Watt actually got the idea for his particular steam engine while _____."

A. high on opium
B. shivering bitterly in a bathtub, having forgotten to fetch a towel beforehand
C. repairing a model of Thomas Newcomen's steam engine, which Newcomen had invented 57 years earlier

Answers to the review questions: 1. C 2. C From the game: Any unique version of the quote that you created is great! Here's the original:    Zapp: Kif, get me ten cases of Pert and Popular [lotion].    Kif: What shall I do with your Jergens, sir?    Zapp: Squirt it on some homeless man with dry elbows. —  Eric Horsted, Futurama: War is the H-Word, 2000

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.