Precedent

·noun A rough draught of a writing which precedes a finished copy.

II. Precedent ·adj Going before; anterior; preceding; antecedent; as, precedent services.

III. Precedent ·noun A preceding circumstance or condition; an antecedent; hence, a prognostic; a token; a sign.

IV. Precedent ·noun Something done or said that may serve as an example to authorize a subsequent act of the same kind; an authoritative example.

V. Precedent ·noun 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.