1. (n.) Something done or said that may serve as a model for a subsequent act\ of the same kind; an authoritative example.

2. (a.) Going before; anterior; preceding; antecedent; as, precedent services.

3. (n.) A preceding circumstance or condition; an antecedent; hence, a prognostic; a token; a sign.

4. (n.) A rough draught of a writing which precedes a finished copy.

5. (n.) A judicial decision which serves as a rule for future determinations in similar or analogous cases; an authority to be followed in courts of justice; forms of proceeding to be followed in similar cases.

action ancestor announcer antecedent anterior antetype antitype archetype avant-garde award bellwether biotype buccinator bushwhacker classic example condemnation consideration criterion decision decree deliverance determination diagnosis dictum doom epitome example exemplar explorer finding forebear foregoer foregoing forerunner former front runner frontiersman fugleman fugler genotype groundbreaker guide harbinger herald imitatee innovator lead lead runner leader messenger mirror model order original paradigm past pathfinder pattern pioneer point precursor predecessor premise previous prior prognosis pronouncement prototype representative resolution rule ruling scout sentence standard stormy petrel trailblazer trailbreaker type type species type specimen urtext vanguard vaunt-courier verdict voortrekker yardstick