Pre*ced"ent (?), a. [L. praecedens, -entis, p. pr. of praecedere: cf. F. pr'ec'edent. See Precede.]
Going before; anterior; preceding; antecedent; as, precedent services.
Shak. "A
precedent injury."
Bacon.
Condition precedent Law, a condition which precede the vesting of an estate, or the accruing of a right.
© Webster 1913.
Prec"e*dent (?), 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.
[Obs.]
3.
A rough draught of a writing which precedes a finished copy.
[Obs.]
Shak.
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.
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.
© Webster 1913.