Both Uses of
precedent
in
Unbroken, by Hillenbrand
- Even conservative track pundits were beginning to think that Louie might be the one to shatter precedent, and after Louie won every race in his senior season, their confidence was strengthened.
p. 21.8precedent = examples from a prior times
- Every American airman knew about Nanking, and since then, Japan had only reinforced the precedent.
p. 88.9 *precedent = example from a prior time
Definition:
an example from a prior time -- typically used to justify similar occurrences at a later time (especially a judicial decision)