ante litteram en · ADP
Etymology
From Latin ante (“before”) + litteram, accusative singular of littera (“letter, writing”).
Meanings
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Before the term existed; before the term was coined.
In the fifteenth century, he espoused ecology ante litteram. He endorsed ecology before the term "ecology" existed.
the new mass media played an increasingly crucial role throughout the nineteenth century as an ante litteram CNN.
2011, Davide Rodogno, Against Massacre: Humanitarian Interventions in the Ottoman Empire, 1815-1914, page 16:What could have been a moral victory or arguably a feminist struggle ante litteram remains a farcical squabble between a nagging wife and a ridiculous old man.
2007, Patricia Vilches, Gerald E. Seaman, Seeking Real Truths: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Machiavelli, page 191: