Pre"cent (?), n. [L. praeceptum, from praecipere to take beforehand, to instruct, teach; prae before + capere to take: cf. F. pr'ecepte. See Pre-, and Capacious.]
1.
Any commandment, instruction, or order intended as an authoritative rule of action; esp., a command respecting moral conduct; an injunction; a rule.
For precept must be upon precept.
Isa. xxviii. 10.
No arts are without their precepts.
Dryden.
2. Law
A command in writing; a species of writ or process.
Burrill.
Syn. -- Commandment; injunction; mandate; law; rule; direction; principle; maxim. See Doctrine.
© Webster 1913.