precedent
from
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
precedent
adj 1: preceding in time, order, or significance
n 1: an example that is used to justify similar occurrences at a
later time [syn: {precedent}, {case in point}]
2: (civil law) a law established by following earlier judicial
decisions [syn: {case law}, {precedent}, {common law}]
3: a system of jurisprudence based on judicial precedents rather
than statutory laws; "common law originated in the unwritten
laws of England and was later applied in the United States"
[syn: {common law}, {case law}, {precedent}]
4: a subject mentioned earlier (preceding in time)
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Precedent \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.
[1913 Webster]
Examples for cases can but direct as precedents
only. --Hooker.
[1913 Webster]
2. A preceding circumstance or condition; an antecedent;
hence, a prognostic; a token; a sign. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
3. A rough draught of a writing which precedes a finished
copy. [Obs.] --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Example; antecedent.
Usage: {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.
[1913 Webster]
from
The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906)
PRECEDENT, n. In Law, a previous decision, rule or practice which, in
the absence of a definite statute, has whatever force and authority a
Judge may choose to give it, thereby greatly simplifying his task of
doing as he pleases. As there are precedents for everything, he has
only to ignore those that make against his interest and accentuate
those in the line of his desire. Invention of the precedent elevates
the trial-at-law from the low estate of a fortuitous ordeal to the
noble attitude of a dirigible arbitrament.
from
The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906)
PRECEDENT, n. In Law, a previous decision, rule or practice which, in
the absence of a definite statute, has whatever force and authority a
Judge may choose to give it, thereby greatly simplifying his task of
doing as he pleases. As there are precedents for everything, he has
only to ignore those that make against his interest and accentuate
those in the line of his desire. Invention of the precedent elevates
the trial-at-law from the low estate of a fortuitous ordeal to the
noble attitude of a dirigible arbitrament.
from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
87 Moby Thesaurus words for "precedent":
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
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