precedent

Definitions

1. 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. 2.A preceding circumstance or condition; an antecedent; hence, a prognostic; a token; a sign. [Obs.]
3. 3.A rough draught of a writing which precedes a finished copy. [Obs.] Shak.
4. 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. Wharton. -- Precedent, Example. An example in a similar case which may serve as a rule or guide, but has no authority out of itself. A precedent is something which comes down to us from the past with the sanction of usage and of common consent. We quote examples in literature, and precedents in law.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

Related questions

• What does "precedent" mean?
• What is another word for "precedent"?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is precedent.

• What is 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 called?
• What is a preceding circumstance or condition; an antecedent; hence, a prognostic; a token; a sign. [Obs.] called?
• What is a rough draught of a writing which precedes a finished copy. [Obs.] Shak called?