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What Latin-derived abbreviation could be used in place of "and the previous ones" or "and the predecessors" i.e., the opposite of et seq.?

I can't start from the other end and use et seq., because the context is a branching structure (could be a literal tree) where each branch point has only one immediate "predecessor" but may have many "successors." Therefore the concept of sequence applies to only one direction.

Example Sentence: "But let us consider the maternal line: Mary, Ana, [the word I am seeking would go here]." Note that "... Eve et. seq." does not have the same meaning because although a daughter has only one mother, a mother may have many daughters.

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  • The question is contradictory: it asks about plural predecessors but then says there is only one... you wouldn't be trying to use Latin to make the tone of your work seem to be knowledgeable and important, would you? Use le mot juste, not what makes you seem clever.
    – Weather Vane
    Mar 29 at 21:11
  • There is no established short term (Latin or otherwise) for this kind of citing, because the need for it practically never arises. If you feel that it is really called for in this particular case (and perhaps you should reconsider whether it is), the best thing to do will probably be to fully spell out in English what you have in mind.
    – jsw29
    Mar 29 at 21:41
  • Can you provide an example sentence? Also: is this in math? Computer science?
    – alphabet
    Mar 29 at 21:57
  • (In computer science, I've never seen anyone use et seq. in this context either.)
    – alphabet
    Mar 29 at 21:58
  • 2
    @StuartF RE "Latin SE:" I don't think Latin SE is the place, since I want to use the phrase in a larger body of work that is English. My composition is not in Latin. I thought perhaps, like "et seq.", the phrase I am looking for might have been incorporated into English.
    – Ana Nimbus
    Apr 1 at 19:40

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