different between rule vs precedent

English

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /?u?l/, [?u??]
• Rhymes: -u?l

Etymology 1

From Middle English reule, rewle, rule, borrowed from Old French riule, reule, itself an early semi-learned borrowing from Latin regula (“straight stick, bar, ruler, pattern”), from reg? (“to keep straight, direct, govern, rule”); see regent.

Noun

rule (countable and uncountable, plural rules)

1. A regulation, law, guideline.
   • a. 1694, John Tillotson, Of The Obligations of Christians to a Holy Life

     We profess to have embraced a religion which contains the most exact rules for the government of our lives.
2. A regulating principle.
   • c. 1604, William Shakespeare, All's well that ends well, Act I, scene I

     There's little can be said in 't; 'Tis against the rule of nature.

3. The act of ruling; administration of law; government; empire; authority; control.
4. A normal condition or state of affairs.

   My rule is to rise at six o'clock.

5. (obsolete) Conduct; behaviour.
6. (law) An order regulating the practice of the courts, or an order made between parties to an action or a suit.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Wharton to this entry?)

7. (mathematics) A determinate method prescribed for performing any operation and producing a certain result.

   a rule for extracting the cube root

8. A ruler; device for measuring, a straightedge, a measure.
   • a. 1716, Robert South, Sermons

     As we may observe in the Works of Art, a Judicious Artist will indeed use his Eye, but he will trust only to his Rule.

9. A straight line (continuous mark, as made by a pen or the like), especially one lying across a paper as a guide for writing.
10. (printing, dated) A thin plate of brass or other metal, of the same height as the type, and used for printing lines, as between columns on the same page, or in tabular work.

Derived terms

Related terms

• regulate
• regent
• regular

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English rulen, borrowed from Old French riuler, from Latin regul?re (“to regulate, rule”), from regula (“a rule”); see regular and regulate.

Verb

rule (third-person singular simple present rules, present participle ruling, simple past and past participle ruled)

1. (transitive) To regulate, be in charge of, make decisions for, reign over.
2. (slang, intransitive) To excel.

3. (intransitive) To decide judicially.
4. (transitive) To establish or settle by, or as by, a rule; to fix by universal or general consent, or by common practice.
   • 1687, Francis Atterbury, An Answer to some Considerations, the Spirit of Martin Luther and the Original of the Reformation

     That's a ruled case with the school-men.

5. (transitive) To mark (paper or the like) with rules (lines).

Synonyms

• (to excel): rock (also slang)

Antonyms

• (to excel): suck (vulgar slang)

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 3

Related to revel.

Noun

rule

1. (obsolete) Revelry.

Verb

rule (third-person singular simple present rules, present participle ruling, simple past and past participle ruled)

1. (obsolete, intransitive) To revel.

Further reading

• rule in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• rule in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• ReLU, Ruel, lure

Spanish

Verb

rule

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of rular.
2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of rular.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of rular.
4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of rular.

English

Alternative forms

• præcedent (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle French, from Old French, from Latin praec?d?ns, present participle of praec?dere (“to precede”); See precede.

Pronunciation

Adjective:

• IPA^(key): /p???si?.d?nt/

Noun:

• (Received Pronunciation, General American, Canada) enPR: pr?s??-d?nt, IPA^(key): /?p??s.?.d?nt/
• (General Australian, Ireland) IPA^(key): /?p?i?.s?.d?nt/, /?p??s-/
• (General New Zealand) IPA^(key): /?p?es.?.d?nt/, /?p?i?-/, /?p??s-/

Noun

precedent (plural precedents)

1. An act in the past which may be used as an example to help decide the outcome of similar instances in the future.
   • 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie

     Examples for cases can but direct as precedents only.

2. (law) A decided case which is cited or used as an example to justify a judgment in a subsequent case.
3. An established habit or custom.
4. (obsolete, with definite article) The aforementioned (thing).
   • , New York 2001, p.74:

     A third argument may be derived from the precedent.

5. The previous version.
6. (obsolete) A rough draught of a writing which precedes a finished copy.

Coordinate terms

• (a case used as an example to justify a judgment in a subsequent one): case law

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

precedent (not comparable)

1. Happening or taking place earlier in time; previous or preceding. [from 14th c.]
2. (now rare) Coming before in a particular order or arrangement; preceding, foregoing. [from 15th c.]

Translations

Verb

precedent (third-person singular simple present precedents, present participle precedenting, simple past and past participle precedented)

1. (transitive, law) To provide precedents for.
2. (transitive, law) To be a precedent for.

See also

• stare decisis

Anagrams

• precented

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin praec?d?ns.

Adjective

precedent (masculine and feminine plural precedents)

1. previous, preceding

Noun

precedent m (plural precedents)

1. precedent

Related terms

• precedència
• precedir

Further reading

• “precedent” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “precedent” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “precedent” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “precedent” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Czech

Noun

precedent m

1. precedent (past act used as example)

Synonyms

• precedens

Related terms

• See cese

Further reading

• precedent in Kartotéka Novo?eského lexikálního archivu
• precedent in Slovník spisovného jazyka ?eského, 1960–1971, 1989

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French precedent. First attested in the 16th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pre?.se??d?nt/, /?pre?.s??d?nt/
• Hyphenation: pre?ce?dent
• Rhymes: -?nt

Noun

precedent n (plural precedenten)

1. precedent

Derived terms

• precedentwerking

Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin praec?d?ns. Compare Middle French preceder.

Adjective

precedent m (oblique and nominative feminine singular precedent or precedente)

1. preceding; that comes before

Romanian

Etymology

From French précédent.

Noun

precedent n (plural preceden?i)

1. precedent

Declension