Precedent
Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence · Benjamin Vaughan Abbott · 1879
Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence
An example which may be followed. The word is used principally, though by no means exclusively, to indicate one of the two following things: A decision in a court of justice, cited in support of any proposition for which it is desired to contend. A draught of a deed, will, mortgage, pleading, &c., which may serve as patterns for future draughtsmen and conveyancers.