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.
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.
A preceding circumstance or condition; an antecedent; hence, a prognostic; a token; a sign. [Obs.]
A rough draught of a writing which precedes a finished copy. [Obs.] Shak.
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.
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