: something done or said that may serve as an example or rule to authorize or justify a subsequent act of the same or an analogous kind
a verdict that had no precedent
b
: the convention established by such a precedent or by long practice
3
: a person or thing that serves as a model
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Precedent and the Supreme Court
A precedent is something that precedes, or comes before. The Supreme Court relies on precedents—that is, earlier laws or decisions that provide some example or rule to guide them in the case they're actually deciding. When hostages are being held for ransom, a government may worry about setting a bad precedent if it gives in. And a company might "break with precedent" by naming a foreigner as its president for the first time.
Adjective behavior that may be explained by a precedent event in her troubled life NounSuddenly, against all historical precedent just for that week, the Federal Emergency Management Agency would have morphed into a well-organized and dependable outfit. John McWhorter, National Review, 26 Sept. 2005On July 12, in an action that seems to have been without precedent, the House voted, 355-0, to condemn a scientific article. Jonathan Rauch, National Journal, 7 Aug. 1999In cases close-run enough to require the Supreme court to decide them, precedent and principle are elastic enough, or complex enough, that justices can often decide either way without brazenly contradicting themselves. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., New Republic, 20 & 27 Sept. 1993We begin to appreciate the mystery when we realize that the act of naming, or denotation, is generically without precedent in natural history. Walker Percy, "Naming And Being,"1960, in Signposts in a Strange Land, 1991 The judge's ruling was based on a precedent established by an earlier decision. He says that the government will set a dangerous precedent if it refuses to allow the protesters to hold a rally. The judge's ruling was based on legal precedent. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Judge Barrett did not entirely embrace the notion of super-precedent. Jonathan Turley, WSJ, 15 Oct. 2020 Many legal scholars question the basis for declaring an ever-wider array of cases to be super-precedent as a way to protect favored rulings. Jonathan Turley, WSJ, 15 Oct. 2020 Britain has no clear privacy law, so precedent matters.The Economist, 3 Oct. 2019
Noun
There’s precedent for advertising promotions that involve gas sold at reduced prices. Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2022 There’s actually some precedent for this kind of political maneuvering. Grace Segers, The New Republic, 15 Sep. 2022 There’s precedent at Orlando’s airport for ground boarding. Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel, 5 Sep. 2022 The annual Great Beantown Move — the day when somewhere between 60 and 80 percent of city leases turn over — is the consequence of a decades-old precedent, created to accommodate the 200,000 college students who arrive in Boston every fall. Catherine Carlock, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Aug. 2022 Day said the offensive staff placement will likely follow past precedent, which means offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson will be in the press box. Nathan Baird, cleveland, 30 Aug. 2022 Previously secret Russia memo concludes 'no precedent' for obstruction case against Trump. Laura L. Davis, USA TODAY, 25 Aug. 2022 But there’s not much recent precedent for public discussions of prisoner swaps, at least by the U.S. government, before the deal is done and planes are in the air. Eric Tucker, Chicago Tribune, 4 Aug. 2022 And there is no guidebook, no clear precedent, about how to do that. Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, 13 July 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Adjective and Noun
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin praecedent-, praecedens, present participle of praecedere — see precede