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Definition of Precedent

Precedent

  1. Going before; anterior; preceding; antecedent; as, precedent services.
  2. Something done or said that may serve as an example to authorize a subsequent act of the same kind; an authoritative example.
  3. A preceding circumstance or condition; an antecedent; hence, a prognostic; a token; a sign.
  4. A rough draught of a writing which precedes a finished copy.
  5. 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.

Precedent Quotations

He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.
Thomas Paine

I walk on untrodden ground. There is scarcely any part of my conduct which may not hereafter be drawn into precedent.
George Washington

I have an almost complete disregard of precedent, and a faith in the possibility of something better. It irritates me to be told how things have always been done. I defy the tyranny of precedent. I go for anything new that might improve the past.
Clara Barton

A precedent embalms a principle.
Benjamin Disraeli

When you raise issues with the President, try to come away with both that decision and also a precedent. Pose issues so as to evoke broader policy guidance. This can help to answer a range of similar issues likely to arise later.
Donald Rumsfeld
More "Precedent" Quotations

Precedent Translations

precedent in Spanish is precedente

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