| Precedent 1. (n.) Something done or said that may serve as a model for a subsequent act of the same kind; an authoritative example. 2. (a.) Going before; anterior; preceding; antecedent; as, precedent services. 3. (n.) A preceding circumstance or condition; an antecedent; hence, a prognostic; a token; a sign. 4. (n.) A rough draught of a writing which precedes a finished copy. 5. (n.) 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. Thesaurus Entries action, ancestor, announcer, antecedent, anterior, antetype, antitype, archetype, avant-garde, award, bellwether, biotype, buccinator, bushwhacker, classic example, condemnation, consideration, criterion, decision, decree, deliverance, determination, diagnosis, dictum, doom, epitome, example, exemplar, explorer, finding, forebear, foregoer, foregoing, forerunner, former, front runner, frontiersman, fugleman, fugler, genotype, groundbreaker, guide, harbinger, herald, imitatee, innovator, lead, lead runner, leader, messenger, mirror, model, order, original, paradigm, past, pathfinder, pattern, pioneer, point, precursor, predecessor, premise, previous, prior, prognosis, pronouncement, prototype, representative, resolution, rule, ruling, scout, sentence, standard, stormy petrel, trailblazer, trailbreaker, type, type species, type specimen, urtext, vanguard, vaunt-courier, verdict, voortrekker, yardstick |