forerunner
🇺🇸
/ˈfɔːrʌnər/
🇬🇧
/ˈfɔːrʌnə(r)/
Someone or something that comes before and shows what will come next.
The small shop was the forerunner to today's big shopping malls.
这家小店是今天大型购物中心的先驱。