PREDECES'SOR, noun [Latin proe and decedo, to depart.] A person who has preceded another in the same office. The king, the president, the judge, or the magistrate, follows the steps of his predecessor or he does not imitate the example of his predecessors. It is distinguished from ancestor, who is of the same blood; but it may perhaps be sometimes used for it.
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Webster's Dictionary 1828
American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828.