Precedents

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Examples from the past that establish standards for later actions or decisions
2. Past instances or judgments that influence future choices or rulings
3. Actions or decisions from earlier times that guide or influence how similar situations are handled later

Etymology: "Precedents" is the plural of "precedent," a noun for a past ruling or action that serves as a guide for later decisions. The singular "precedent" came into English from Middle French, which had taken it from Old French, and it ultimately traces back to the Latin "praecedens," the present participle of "praecedere," meaning "to go before." That Latin verb is built from "prae," meaning "before," and "cedere," meaning "to go," so the core idea is simply something that goes ahead of something else. In its original sense, a precedent was closer to a thing that comes first in time, and the legal sense of an earlier case guiding a later one grew naturally from that notion of being placed ahead.

Synonyms: examples, models, standards, guides, patterns

Antonyms: exceptions, anomalies, deviations, irregularities, outliers