Definition of precedent

• a. - Going before; anterior; preceding; antecedent; as, precedent services.
• n. - Something done or said that may serve as an example to authorize a subsequent act of the same kind; an authoritative example.
• n. - A preceding circumstance or condition; an antecedent; hence, a prognostic; a token; a sign.
• n. - A rough draught of a writing which precedes a finished copy.
• 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.