forerunner
One who precedes
A forerunner is someone or something that comes before and signals or prepares the way for what follows.
John the Baptist was the forerunner of Christ.
A forerunner can be an ancestor, predecessor, or early version: The abacus was a forerunner of the modern computer.
The word also applies to advance signs or symptoms: A tingling sensation can be a forerunner of migraine.
One who came first
- antecedentSomething that precedes
- ancestorPredecessor in lineage
- progenitorAncestor or originator
- prototypeFirst functional specimen
archetype · harbinger · herald · vanguard · bellwether · originator · pioneer · trailblazer
Person with promotional reach
- tastemakerOne who shapes trends
- trailblazerFirst to forge ahead
- visionaryImaginative planner of futures
- innovatorCreator of new methods
leader · vanguard · fashionista · iconoclast · groundbreaker · pacesetter · bellwether · early adopter
First to forge ahead
- pathfinderOne who discovers routes
- innovatorCreator of new methods
- groundbreakerInnovator, first to act
- explorerOne who investigates unfamiliar regions
founder · discoverer · leader · visionary · originator · inventor · entrepreneur · frontiersman
Prophetic indicator
- portentSign of future calamity
- harbingerOne who foreshadows
- presageIndicate beforehand
- auguryOmen interpretation practice
sign · signal · indicator · herald · precursor · foreshadowing · premonition · foretoken
Authoritative wisdom source
- seerOne who envisions futures
- soothsayerOne who predicts futures
- divinerOne who foretells events
- augurOne who reads omens
clairvoyant · prognosticator · sibyl · visionary · futurist · predictor · forecaster · foreteller
predecessor
One who came first
- antecedentSomething that precedes
- ancestorPredecessor in lineage
- progenitorAncestor or originator
prototype · archetype · harbinger · herald · vanguard · bellwether · originator · pioneer · trailblazer · pathfinder
influencer
Person with promotional reach
- tastemakerOne who shapes trends
- trailblazerFirst to forge ahead
- visionaryImaginative planner of futures
innovator · leader · vanguard · fashionista · iconoclast · groundbreaker · pacesetter · bellwether · early adopter · arbiter
trailblazer
First to forge ahead
- pathfinderOne who discovers routes
- innovatorCreator of new methods
- groundbreakerInnovator, first to act
explorer · founder · discoverer · leader · visionary · originator · inventor · entrepreneur · frontiersman · scout
omen
Prophetic indicator
augury · sign · signal · indicator · herald · precursor · foreshadowing · premonition · foretoken · warning sign
oracle
Authoritative wisdom source
- seerOne who envisions futures
- soothsayerOne who predicts futures
- divinerOne who foretells events
augur · clairvoyant · prognosticator · sibyl · visionary · futurist · predictor · forecaster · foreteller · omen
model
Representation or paradigm
- templatePreset pattern for reproduction
- blueprintDetailed technical drawing
- archetypeOriginal model for copies
mockup · pilot · sample · specimen · pattern · original · benchmark · standard · design · maquette
- notable figurespolitical leaders, historical figures, dignitary, luminary, presidents
- omensomens, omen, portent, portents, signs
- originatorsfounder, creator, inventor, innovator, pioneer
- Pioneerspioneer, pioneers, trailblazer, innovator, groundbreaker
- trendsetterstrendsetter, trendsetters, influencer, fashionistas, style icons
- precursorsharbinger, ancestor, pioneer, prototype, predecessor
forerunnersuccessor
One who replaces another
follower · descendant · latecomer · aftercomer · posterity
forerunnerresult
What follows a cause
derivative · product · by-product · outgrowth · outcome
forerunnerimitator
One who copies others
copycat · derivative · follower · late adopter · traditionalist