precedent

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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

precedent

/ˈpɹɛs.ɪ.dənt/ Canada, US, UK
/ˈpɹiː.sɪ.dənt/ Australia, Ireland
/ˈpɹɛs-/ Australia, Ireland
/ˈpɹes.ɪ.dənt/ New Zealand
/ˈpɹiː-/ New Zealand
/pɹɪˈsiː.dənt/

Where it comes from

From Middle French, from Old French, from Latin praecēdēns, present participle of praecēdere (“to precede”); See precede.

noun precedents · præcedent

An act in the past which may be used as an example to help decide the outcome of similar instances in the future. Examples for cases can but direct as precedents only.
A decided case which is cited or used as an example to justify a judgment in a subsequent case.
An established habit or custom.
obsolete, with definite article The aforementioned (thing). A third argument may be derived from the precedent.
The previous version.
obsolete A rough draught of a writing which precedes a finished copy. My Lord Melun, let this be copied out, I did suppose it should be on constraint ; And keep it safe for our remembrance : But , heaven be thank'd , it is but voluntary , Return the precedent to these lords again

adjective præcedent

not comparable Happening or taking place earlier in time; previous or preceding.
Similar: antecedent, predecessive
archaic, not comparable Coming before in a particular order or arrangement; preceding, foregoing. In the precedent section mention was made, amongst other pleasant objects, of this comeliness and beauty which proceeds from women […].

verb precedents · precedenting · precedented · præcedent

transitive To provide precedents for.
transitive To be a precedent for.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: preceding, case law, common law, predecessor, precedence, foregoing, previous, prelude, prev, prior, precursor, prerequisite, antecedent, prejudice, past, earlier

Translations

Every language

noun past act used as example

Español	precedente
한국어	사례 sarye, 전례 jeollye
日本語	先例 senrei, 前例 zenrei
中文	實例 /实例 shílì, 範例 /范例 fànlì, 事例 shìlì, 先例 xiānlì, 前例 qiánlì
Português	precedente
Français	précédent
Deutsch	Präzedenz, Präzedenzfall
Italiano	precedente
Ελληνικά	προηγούμενο proïgoúmeno
Română	precedent
Русский	прецеде́нт precedént
Tiếng Việt	tiền lệ
العربية	سَابِقَة sābiqa
עברית	תַּקְדִּים takdím

noun leading case which is cited to justify a judgment

Español	precedente
한국어	판례 pallye
日本語	判例 hanrei
中文	判例 pànlì
Português	precedente
Français	décision de principe
Deutsch	Präjudiz, Präzedenzfall
Italiano	pregiudiziale
Ελληνικά	δεδικασμένο dedikasméno
Русский	прецеде́нт precedént
Tiếng Việt	án lệ
עברית	תַּקְדִּים takdím

adj earlier in time

Español	precedente
Français	précédent
Italiano	precedente
Ελληνικά	προηγούμενος proïgoúmenos
Русский	предше́ствующий predšéstvujuščij, предыду́щий predydúščij

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Cite this

MLA

"precedent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/precedent. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

precedent. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/precedent

Chicago

"precedent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/precedent.

BibTeX

@misc{precedent_2026,
  title = {precedent},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/precedent},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}