prethodni

Prethodni is an adjective used in Croatian, Bosnian, and Serbian to mean "previous," "preceding," or "earlier." It describes something that comes before another element in time or order. The form agrees with the noun it modifies (for example, prethodni dan = the previous day, prethodna godina = the previous year, prethodno pitanje = the preceding question).

Etymology and related forms: prethodni derives from the Slavic prefix pre- meaning before, combined with the root associated with the concept of preceding or coming before, as in the verb prethoditi (to precede). The adverb prethodno means "previously" or "beforehand." Related nouns and phrases appear in formal, historical, or procedural contexts.

Grammatical usage: as with other adjectives in these languages, prethodni changes its ending to match gender and number of the noun. Use prethodni for masculine singular, prethodna for feminine singular, prethodno for neuter singular, and their plural forms to match the noun. It is commonly found in technical, legal, historical, or narrative writing to reference earlier items, events, sections, or statements.

Common contexts: prethodni dan, prethodna godina, prethodni odjeljak, prethodni članak, prethodno pravilo. It frequently appears in instructions, summaries, timelines, and comparative statements to denote a step or item that precedes the current one.

See also: prethodno (adverb), prethoditi (verb, to precede). The term is used primarily in South Slavic languages and may appear in multilingual texts with translations such as “previous” or “earlier.”