precedented 
He oppoMd a bill which . . . wai right :iml wise In 
principle, and was prccedented In the best time*. 
Burke. Works, VII. 240. 
precedential (pres-e-den'shal), a. [< precedent 
+ -i-ul.] Of the nature of a precedent; suita- 
ble for imitation ; followed as a precedent. 
I have read that, by act of parliament. It [the church] 
was settled on the city to maintain and repair, and hope 
their practice hath proved precedential to other places In 
the same nature. 
Fuller, Worthies, Gloucestershire, I. 549. 
precedently (pre-se'dent-li), adv. Beforehand; 
antecedently, 
precelt (pre-sel'), . [< OF. precellcr, < L. prse- 
rrllirc, surpass, excel, < prte, before, + -celtere, 
as in excellere, surpass : see excel.] I. trans. To 
excel; surpass. 
4676 
Sard. Who brought this same, sirrah? 
lliu'l. Marry, sir, one of the justice's men ; he says 'tis 
a precept, and all their hands be at It. 
11. Jotmim, Every Man out of his Humour, 1. 1. 
Precept of Clare constat, In Scott law. See clarr con- 
flat. Precept of saalne, the order of a superior to his 
bailie to give Infeftment of certain lands to his viusn.il. 
See tarint.=Byn. 1. Dogma, Tenet, etc. (see doctrine): 
Hale, etc. (see principle) ; Axiom, Maxim, etc. (see apho- 
rism), Instruction, law. 
preceptt, . t. [(precept, n.] 1. To teach; lead 
by precept. 
I do not find but It may well become a man to precept 
himself into the practice of virtue. Feltham, Resolves. 
2. To order by rule ; ordain. 
The two commended rules by him [Aristotle] set down, 
whereby the axioms of sciences are precepted to be made 
convertible, . . . are the same thing, in speculation and 
affirmation, which we now observe. 
Bacon, Works (ed. Montagu), I. 284. 
A princely graffe which as far precelt her which he hath 
lighted upon as a damask rose doth the cousllp. . , 
lloirtll, Vocall Forrest, p. 132. preceptialt (pre-sep'shal), a. [Irreg. < precept 
Consisting 01 precepts; instructive. 
'I In in shalt be Janus ; hard 'tis to precel 
Thy father ; If tin .11 equal'st him, 'tis well. 
Owen's Epigrami. (Naret.) 
[Rare.] 
Men 
Can counsel, and speak comfort to that grief 
Which they themselves not feel ; but, tasting it. 
Their counsel turns to passion, which before 
Would give prcccptial medicine to rage. 
Much Ado, v. 1. 24. 
n. intrans. To excel others ; display unusual 
superiority. 
For It Is conneniente that be whiche precetteth In honor 
should also precelle In vertues. J. Udati, On Timothy, ill 
precellencet (pre-sel'ens), n. [< precellen(t) 
+ -ce.] Same as precellency. 
precellencyt (pre-sel'en-si), . [As precellence 
(see -cy).] Excellence ; superiority. 
As you have the precellency of the women of the world 
for beauty and feature, so assume the honour to give, and 
not take Law from any, in matter of attire. 
N. Ward, Simple Cobler, p. 29. 
Nor thought I it fit to rhetoricate In proposing the great preceptive (pre-sep'tiv), a 
variety of things and precellency of one above another. 
Dr. 11. More, Antidote against Atheism, Pref. 
precellentt (pre-sel'ent), a. [< OF. precellent 
= Sp. precelente, < L. preecellen(t-)s, ppr. otprse- 
cellere, excel : see precel.] Excellent; surpass- 
ing; conspicuously superior. 
Even so the rectitude of reason in the precellent know- 
ledge of the truth is one puissance. 
Holland, tr. of Plutarch, p. 653. 
precentor (pre-sen'tor), n. [< LL. prtecentor, a 
leader in music, < prxcinere, sing or play before, 
< prse, before, + canere, sing: see cant*, chant.] 
(pre-sep'shon), n. [< OP. precep- 
tion, < L. i>reeceptio(n-), a taking or receiving be- 
forehand, an injunction, < prxcipere, pp. prte- 
ceptus, take or receive beforehand, admonish, 
teach: see precept."] A precept; an injunction. 
Their Leo calls these words [let him be the husband of 
one wife] a preception ; I did not. 
/;/-. //"'/. Honour of Married Clergy, t xviii. 
[< OF. preceptif 
= Sp. Pg. preceptivo = It. precettivo, < L. prx- 
ceptivus, didactic, pertaining to a precept, < 
priecipere, pp. prseceptus, talce or receive be- 
forehand, admonish, teach : see precept.] Giv- 
ing or containing precepts or rules of conduct; 
instructive ; admonitory. 
Not expounding, but obeying the preemptive, words of 
their Lord. Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835X I. lift. 
For It is the same thing which Is denominated the law 
(of Moses, or of Christ) from the preceptive part, and a 
covenant from the terms, or sanction, especially the pro- 
missory part. Baxter, Divine Appointment of the Lord's 
[Day, v., Postscript. 
A leader or director of a church choir or congre- preceptor (pro-sep'tor), n. [= F . precepteur = 
of the choir, of the musical service, and often of other 
matters ; a musical director. The precentor's place In the 
choir-stalls is on the left of the altar ; hence that side Is 
called cantorit, 'the precentor's.' 
The Spirit of Christ Is the prrccntor, or rector chorl, the 
master of the choir. Jtr. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835X I. 637. 
In 1204, when the see of Winchester was vacant, the 
chapter was divided between the dean of Salisbury and 
the precfntor of Lincoln. fHiMa, Const Hist, 5 382. 
precentorship (pre-sen'tor-ship), . [< precen- 
tor + -ehip.] The office or duties of a precen- 
tor; the condition of being a precentor. 
precentral (pre-sen'tral), a. [< NL. prseccn- 
tralis, < L. prss, before! + centrum, center: see 
see precept.] 1. A teacher; an instructor; a 
tutor. 
Folly is soon learn'd ; 
And under such preceptor! who can fail ! 
Cooper, Task, II. 284. 
2. The head of a preceptory of the Knights 
Templars. 
This establishment of the Templars was seated amidst 
fair meadows and pastures, which the devotion of the for- 
mer preceptor had bestowed upon their order. 
Scott, Ivanhoe, xxxv. 
preceptorial (pre-sep-to'ri-al), a. [< preceptor 
+ -ial.] Pertaining or belonging to a precep- 
tor: as, preceptorial functions. 
central.] In anal. : (a) Situated in front of the preceptory (pre-sep'to-ri), a. and n. [< ML. 
prseceptoritts, preceptory (fern, preeceptoria, a 
preceptory), < L. prseceptor, a preceptor: see 
preceptor?] I.f a. Giving precepts ; preceptive. 
Rev. I. Adams, Works, III., Memoir, p. 1. 
II. n. ; r>\. preceptories (-riz). A subordinate 
religious house where instruction was given. 
Preceptories were establishments of the Knighta Tern- 
kntghts preceptors. All the preceptories of a province were 
subject to a provincial superior, three of whom held rank 
above all the rest, viz., those of Jerusalem, Tripoli*, and 
Antlooh. 
The establishments of the order (Templars], which bore 
central sulcus or Rolandic fissure of the brain, 
(ft) Placed in front of a vertebral centrum. 
Precentral convolution, the anterior central or ascend- 
ing frontal convolution. Precentral sulcus, a sulcus 
of the frontal lobe, parallel with the fissure of Bolando, 
and limiting the anterior central convolution In front 
Also called vertical tulcut. 
precetto, < L. prseceptum, a rule", injunction, 
doctrine, maxim, precept, neut. of prseceptus, 
pp. of prsecii>ere, take or seize beforehand, ad- 
monish, advise, give rules to, instruct, teach, 
< prse, before, + capere, take: see capable. Cf. 
preeipe.] 1. A commandment or direction 
given as a rule of action ; teaching ; instruc- 
tion; especially, an injunction as to moral 
conduct; a rule of conduct; a maxim. 
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept ; 
line upon line, line upon line ; here a little, and there a 
little. 
the name of prtceptoriet, to the number of twenty-three, 
were at first seized by the King and other lords, but after- 
wards, by a bull from the Pope and an Act of Parliament, 
transferred to the rival order of the Hospitallers. 
R. W. Dixon, Hist Church of Eng., T. 
preceptress (pre-sep'tres), n. [< preceptor + 
-ess. Cf . OF. preceptrice.] A female preceptor 
.._ or teacher. Cotcper, Task, iii. 505. 
Isa. xxvuL 10. precerebellar (pre-ser-e-bel'ar), a. [< L. prte, 
Thy learned precept* before, + cerebellum, cerebellum: see cerebel- 
Shall call roe back and set my fooUng* straight /,.] Anterior or superior with respect to the 
*"> L * cerebellum: noting the superior cerebellar ar- 
2. In IMP: () A command or mandate in writ- tery. 
ing issued by a court or judge, as for bringing precerebral (pre-ser'e-bral), a. [< L. prse, be- 
a person, record, or other matter before him, or fore, + cerebrum, brain: see cerebral.] Ante- 
for the collection of costs, etc., or for summon- rior with respect to the cerebrum : noting the 
ing jurors, etc. ^6) In English law, a command anterior cerebral artery. 
or mandate in writing issued pursuant to law by preces (pre'sez), n. pi. [ML., pi. of L. pres 
an administrative oflicer: as, a sheriffs precept (prec-), a prayer: see pray*.] The alternate 
for a municipal election. petitions, such as the versicles and suffrages, 
precinct 
which pass conjointly between the clergyman 
and the congregation in liturgical churches; 
specifically, in the English choral service, those 
versicles (with the Gloria Patri) which immedi- 
ately precede the Psalms, beginning "O Lord, 
open thou our lips." 
The occasional presence of precet, a series of short In- 
tercessions resembling the (ircvk F.ktene, or deacon's lit- 
any. Kncyc. Brit., XIV. 707. 
precession (pre-sesh'on), n. [< ME. precession, 
< OF. precession, F. precession = Sp. precesion 
= Pg. precessSo = It. precessione, ? ML. prte- 
cessio(n-), a going before, advance, < L. prtece- ' 
dere, pp. prsecessus, go before: see precede.] 
1. The act of going before or of moving for- 
ward; advance. 
11] women I met with precrsrinn, 
I askyd hem whedlr that tbel were bone. 
Political Poem, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 208. 
2f. Precedence. 
The legate! of Pope Leo did take In dudgeon this prefer- 
ment of Dloscorus, and would not sit down in the synod, 
because the precetaon was not given to their Holy See. 
Borrow, The Pope's Supremacy, p. 197. 
3. In philol,, a weakening of a vowel due to a 
change of accent ; a change from a full strong 
vowel to a thinner one : opposed to progression. 
March, Anglo-Saxon Gram., p. 26. LunUolar 
precession. See lunitolar. Precession of the equi- 
noxes, in outran., a slow retrograde motion of the equi- 
noctial points, viz. from east to west, or contrary to the 
order of the signs. The equinoctial points do not re- 
tain the same position in the heavens, but have a slow 
retrograde motion, at the rate of about 50."24 In a year, 
or about a degree in 71.66 years, the equator moving on the 
ecliptic while the ecliptic retains Its position nearly un- 
changed among the stars. This phenomenon Is caused by 
the combined action of the sun and moon on the mass of 
matter accumulated about the earth's equator, and Is called 
the precession of the equinoxes because it makes the equi- 
noxes succeed each other In less time than they would 
otherwise do. In consequence of the precession of the 
equinoxes, the longitudes of the heavenly bodies are con- 
tinually Increasing, the latitudes remaining unchanged. 
The right ascensions and declinations are, of course, 
both changing. The precession of the equinoxes was fit- 
covered by Hlpparchus more than a century before the 
Christian era. The equinoctial points will make ail entire 
revolution in about 25,800 years. 
processional (pre-sesh'on-al), n. [< precession 
+ -al.] Pertaining to or resulting from the 
precession of the equinoxes: as, precessional 
force. 
precessort (pre-ses'or), . [= It. precessore, < 
L. processor, a predecessor, a superior, < prie- 
ceaere, pp. prsecessus, go before: see precede.] 
A predecessor. 
i'ordham was herein more court-like and civil to this 
Eudo than Thomas Arundel his Preceaour, Bishop of Ely. 
Fuller, Hist. Camb., 11L 62. (Dana.) 
prechet, r. A Middle English form of preach. 
prechordal (pre-k6r'dal), a. [< L. prse, before, 
+ chorda, < Gr. xpd'i, chord : see chordal.] 1. 
Situated in front of the notochord: applied to 
those parts of the brain which are anterior 
to the end of the chorda dorsalis: correlated 
with epichordal and parachordal. 2. Prior in 
time to the existence of the Chordata or chor- 
date animals; before the evolution of a noto- 
chord in animals. [Rare.] 
In what we may call pne-chordal times. 
Encyc. BriL, XXIV. 187. 
prechoroid (pre-ko'roid), n. [< pre- + clioroid.] 
Situated before the choroid. Prechoroid artery, 
the anterior cboroid artery. 
prechristian (pre-kris'tian), a. [< pre- + 
Christian.'] Relating to or existent or occur- 
ring in times prior to the Christian era: as, the 
prechristian system ; prechristian speculations. 
Princeton Rev., July, 1879, pp. 148, 149. 
prechristianic (pre-kris-ti-an'ik), a. [< j>re- 
+ Christian + -ic.] Same as prcchrixtitm. 
KHCUC. Srit.,XV.8&. 
precinct (pre'singt), n. [= Pg. It. prrrintn, 
< ML. prsecinctum, circuit, boundary line, < L. 
prsecinctus, a girding, < prsecinaere, pp. prte- 
cinctus, gird, gird about, < prse, before, + cin- 
gere, surround, gird : see riwrfi/re.] 1. The ex- 
terior line or boundary encompassing a place; 
bound; limit; boundary line. 
I think never man could boast It without the precinctt 
of paradise but he that came to gain us a better Eden 
then we lost OlanrOle, Vanity of Dogmatizing, xll. 
2. An inclosed or bounded space ; an inclosure 
or a space definitely marked off by boundaries ; 
a peribolus. 
God made a winde to passe In Oommisslon, and, as a 
common vmplre, to end their vnnaturall strife, furring 
the Waters Into their ancient j<wiwf* about- and beneath 
the Firmament Pvrchat, lllgrlmage, p. 41. 
She made the House of the Seven Gables like a home to 
him, and the garden a familiar precinct. 
llairthitrnr, Seven (tables, xll. 
