¹precedent

adjective pre·ce·dent \pri-ˈsē-d^ənt, ˈpre-sə-dənt\

Definition of PRECEDENT

: prior in time, order, arrangement, or significance

See precedent defined for kids

Origin of PRECEDENT

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin praecedent-, praecedens, present participle of praecedere (see precede)

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to PRECEDENT

Synonyms: antecedent, anterior, foregoing, former, previous, preceding, prior

Antonyms: after, ensuing, following, later, posterior, subsequent, succeeding

Rhymes with PRECEDENT

decedent, succedent

²precedent

noun prec·e·dent \ˈpre-sə-dənt\

: a similar action or event that happened at an earlier time

: something done or said that can be used as an example or rule to be followed in the future

: the usual or traditional way of doing something

Full Definition of PRECEDENT

: an earlier occurrence of something similar

a : something done or said that may serve as an example or rule to authorize or justify a subsequent act of the same or an analogous kind <a verdict that had no precedent>

b : the convention established by such a precedent or by long practice

: a person or thing that serves as a model

See precedent defined for English-language learners

Examples of PRECEDENT

Suddenly, against all historical precedent just for that week, the Federal Emergency Management Agency would have morphed into a well-organized and dependable outfit. —John McWhorter, National Review, 26 Sept. 2005
On July 12, in an action that seems to have been without precedent, the House voted, 355-0, to condemn a scientific article. —Jonathan Rauch, National Journal, 7 Aug. 1999
In cases close-run enough to require the Supreme court to decide them, precedent and principle are elastic enough, or complex enough, that justices can often decide either way without brazenly contradicting themselves. —Henry Louis Gates, Jr., New Republic, 20 & 27 Sept. 1993
We begin to appreciate the mystery when we realize that the act of naming, or denotation, is generically without precedent in natural history. —Walker Percy, “Naming And Being,” 1960, in Signposts in a Strange Land, 1991
[+]more [-]hide