WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Pre*ced"ent
Part of Speech : a.
Etymology : [L. praecedens, -entis, p. pr. of praecedere: cf. F. pr?c?dent. See Precede.]
Definition : Defn: 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.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : Prec"e*dent
Part of Speech : n.
Definition : 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)

Defn: 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.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913