Is there an appropriate word to refer to "the letter to which this letter is responding"?


Given that...



  1. If Jeremy is a "parent" to Sarah, then Sarah is a "child" to Jeremy.

  2. If archaeopteryx is an "ancestor" to chicken, then chicken is a "descendent" of achaeopteryx.


It seems to me that if a letter is written in response to another, then there is a similar two-way relationship between those two letters, but I'm a bit stuck on coming up with a good word to describe that relationship. Perhaps:



  1. If B is a "reply" to A, then A is an "antecedent" to B.

  2. If B is a "reply" to A, then A is a "precursor" to B.


But I'm not particularly fond of either. Is anybody aware of a term that has been used within the context of such communications?


Note - I have re-worded the above considerably, as it seems that a number of answerers were under the impression that I was looking for correct phrasing to write in a reply, such as "in response to your letter dated..." Hopefully the re-phrasing of the question might help avoid any more folks putting effort into such answers. My apologies if my intent wasn't clear enough previously.




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