English
precedent
Precedent comes from Latin praecēdēns ‘preceding’, from cēdō ‘to go, move, proceed, go along, move along’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *kezdō.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kezdōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcēdō‘to go, move, proceed, go along, move along’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraecēdōas praecēdere, present participle‘to precede’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraecēdēns‘preceding’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596precedent
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kezdōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcēdō‘to go, move, proceed, go along, move along’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraecēdōas praecēdere, present participle‘to precede’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraecēdēns‘preceding’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596precedent
Earliest quotation: c. 1596, William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King Iohn: “My Lord Melun, let this be copied out, I…”
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *kezdō
excessive, successor, succession, successive, procession, inaccessible, recessive, 9 more
through Latin cēdō ‘to go, move, proceed, go along, move along’
process, success, necessary, accessible, excess, succeed, procedure, cease, concession, recession, accession, cessation, predecessor, recess, secession, concede, intercession, cede, 28 more
through Latin praecēdō ‘to precede’
Today it means
noun An act in the past which may be used as an example to help decide the outcome of similar instances in the future.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *kezdō / precedent