Pre*ced"ent (?), a. [L.
praecedens, -entis, p. pr. of praecedere: cf. F.
précédent. See Precede.] 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.
Prec"e*dent (?), n. 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) 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.