Precedent

Definition of Precedent

Prec´e`dent
a.1.Going before; anterior; preceding; antecedent; as, precedent services.
Condition precedent
(Law) a condition which precede the vesting of an estate, or the accruing of a right.
n.1.Something done or said that may serve as an example to authorize a subsequent act of the same kind; an authoritative example.
Examples for cases can but direct as precedents only.
- Hooker.
2.A preceding circumstance or condition; an antecedent; hence, a prognostic; a token; a sign.
3.A rough draught of a writing which precedes a finished copy.
4.(Law) A judicial decision which serves as a rule for future determinations in similar or analogous cases; an authority to be followed in courts of justice; forms of proceeding to be followed in similar cases.

Related Words

action, ancestor, announcer, antecedent, anterior, antetype, antitype, archetype, avant-garde, award, bellwether, biotype, buccinator, bushwhacker, classic example, condemnation, consideration, criterion, decision, decree, deliverance, determination, diagnosis, dictum, doom, epitome, example, exemplar, explorer, finding, forebear, foregoer, foregoing, forerunner, former, front runner, frontiersman, fugleman, fugler, genotype, groundbreaker, guide, harbinger, herald, imitatee, innovator, lead, lead runner, leader, messenger, mirror, order, original, paradigm, past, pathfinder, pattern, pioneer, point, precursor, predecessor, premise, previous, prior, prognosis, pronouncement, prototype, representative, resolution, rule, ruling, scout, sentence, standard, stormy petrel, trailblazer, trailbreaker, type, type species, type specimen, urtext, vanguard, vaunt-courier, verdict, voortrekker, yardstick
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