11 letters · 16 points in Scrabble
noun one who precedes you in time (as in holding a position or office)
noun something that precedes and indicates the approach of something or someone
originFrom Middle English predecessour, from Old French predecesseor (“forebear”), from Late Latin praedēcessor, from Latin prae- (“pre-”) + Latin dēcessor (“retiring officer”), from Latin dēcēdō (“to retire, to die”) (English decease).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0