Precedent — Defs

01 a. Going before; anterior; preceding; antecedent; as, precedent services.

1.
Going before; anterior; preceding; antecedent; as, precedent services.

Phrases & compounds

Condition precedent — a condition which precede the vesting of an estate, or the accruing of a right.

02 n. Something done or said that may serve as an example to authorize a subsequent act of the same kind; an authoritative example.

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.[Obs.]
3.
A rough draught of a writing which precedes a finished copy.[Obs.]
4.
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.(Law)

Syn. Example; antecedent.

-- 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.