<p><strong>Noun:</strong></p><ul><li>predecessor;</li><li>ancestor;</li><li>forebear;</li><li>precursor.</li><li>an omen, sign, or indication of something to follow; portent: The warm evenings were a forerunner of summer.</li><li>a person who goes or is sent in advance to announce the coming of someone or something that follows; herald; harbinger.</li><li>the Forerunner, John the Baptist.</li></ul>