precedent C1 Topic:Time US /ˈpɹiː.sɪ.dənt/ UK /ˈpɹɛs.ɪ.dənt/ See IPA manual Freq #14097 Meanings 1 noun An earlier event or action used as an example or guide for later ones. The court's ruling set an important precedent. 2 noun (law) A past judicial decision that guides later cases. Lawyers cited several precedents to support their argument. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · an earlier event or action... case in point 2 noun · (law) a past judicial... case lawcommon law Word family Forms precedents Derived forms precedencyprecedent-settingprecedentedprecedentialprecedentlessprecedentlyunprecedentunprecedentalunprecedentedunprecedently Common collocations dangerous precedent Adjective + noun Etymology AI details From Middle French, from Old French, from Latin praecēdēns, present participle of praecēdere (“to precede”); See precede. praecēdēns Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Time Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # precedent **Type:** Word **Level:** C1 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈpɹiː.sɪ.dənt/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈpɹɛs.ɪ.dənt/ **Frequency rank:** 14097 ## Meanings 1. An earlier event or action used as an example or guide for later ones. 2. (law) A past judicial decision that guides later cases. ## Examples - The court's ruling set an important precedent. - Lawyers cited several precedents to support their argument. ## Derived Forms - precedency - precedent-setting - precedented - precedential - precedentless - precedently - unprecedent - unprecedental - unprecedented - unprecedently ## Roots and Affixes - Root: praecēdēns ## Etymology From Middle French, from Old French, from Latin praecēdēns, present participle of praecēdere (“to precede”); See precede. ## AI Etymology Precedent comes from Middle French, from Old French, from Latin praecēdēns, present participle of praecēdere (“to precede”); See precede. The historical chain includes praecēdēns (Latin). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as precedency, precedent-setting, precedented, and precedential. In present use it covers an earlier event or action used as an example or guide for later ones and (law) A past judicial decision that guides later cases. ## Topics - Time - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown