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n.

1. One that precedes and indicates, suggests, or announces someone or something to come: Colonial opposition to unfair taxation by the British was a precursor of the Revolution.
2. One that precedes another; a forerunner or predecessor: The new principal's precursor was an eminent educator.
3. A biochemical substance, such as an intermediate compound in a chain of enzymatic reactions, from which a more stable or definitive product is formed: a precursor of insulin.

[Middle English precursoure, from Old French precurseur, from Latin praecursor, from praecursus, past participle of praecurrere, to run before : prae-, pre- + currere, to run.]

noun

1. One that indicates or announces someone or something to come: forerunner, foreshadower, harbinger, herald, presager. See foresight, show/hide.
2. One that precedes, as in time: ancestor, antecedent, forerunner, predecessor, progenitor. See precede/follow.

n.pl

Particles or compounds that precede something. In biochemistry, carbohydrates may serve as precursors for structural and functional molecules. The -blast suffix indicates the precursor cell of a structure, such as in the term odontoblast.

Something that precedes. In biological processes, a substance from which another, usually more active or mature substance is formed. In clinical medicine, a clinical sign or syndrome that heralds another.

• p. fragments — see okazaki fragments.

(DOD) Any chemical reactant which takes place at any stage in the production by whatever method of a toxic chemical. This includes any key component of a binary or multicomponent chemical system. See also toxic chemical.

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Common misspelling(s) of precursor

• precurser

Dansk (Danish)
n. - forløber, forstadium

Nederlands (Dutch)
voorloper, aanleiding

Français (French)
n. - précurseur, signe avant-coureur, prélude, ancêtre

Deutsch (German)
n. - Wegbereiter, Vorgänger

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - προάγγελος, πρόδρομος

Italiano (Italian)
precursore

Português (Portuguese)
n. - precursor (m)

Русский (Russian)
предшественник, предтеча

Español (Spanish)
n. - precursor

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - förelöpare, förebud

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
先驱者, 先进者, 前导

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 先驅者, 先進者, 前導

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 선구자, 선각자

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 先駆者, 前兆

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) بشير بمن سيأتي في أثره, ممهد السبيل, بادرة‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮בא לפני, מבשר, מקדים, חומר ממנו נוצר חומר אחר בריאקציה כימית‬

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L-glutathione Precursor