Both Uses of
predecessor
in
The Magic Mountain
- It was a little past three-thirty when a technical assistant who worked down here opened the door to admit the lucky Swedish bruiser—evidently his predecessor had been let out by way of another exit.†
Chpt 5.2 *predecessor = one who precedes another in time
- I, for my pan, was never able to attain such clarity, although it was clear to me that anyone who found himself in a situation where he must ponder such matters would have to assume certain precedents, or indeed predecessors—though I did know that Director Behrens, who as you are perhaps aware is an amateur painter in oils, had in the course of a great many sittings produced a magnificent portrait of her, with a lifelike mastery of the skin that, just between us, certainly takes one aback.†
Chpt 7.4predecessors = people who precede others in time
Definition:
one who precedes another in time -- such as the previous mayor relative to the current mayor