Precedent definition
An example of precedent is the legal decision in Brown v. Board of Education guiding future laws about desegregation.
The president followed historical precedent in forming the Cabinet.
Other Word Forms
Noun
Origin of precedent
- Middle English from Old French from Latin praecēdēns praecēdent- present participle of praecēdere to go before precede
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
-
From Wiktionary