Etymograph

English

predecessor

Predecessor comes from Old French predecesseor ‘forebear’, from Latin dēcessor ‘retiring officer’, and ultimately from cēdō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcēdō
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcēdō‘to retire, to die’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcessor‘retiring officer’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpraedēcessor
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400predecesseor‘forebear’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500predecessour
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1849predecessor

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Earlier history not traced here.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcēdō
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcēdō‘to retire, to die’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcessor‘retiring officer’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpraedēcessor
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400predecesseor‘forebear’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500predecessour
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1849predecessor

Earliest quotation: 1849, – 1850 November, Charles Dickens: “I thought about my predecessor, who had died of…”

Linked words

through Latin cēdō

process, success, necessary, succeed, procedure, cease, accessible, excess, recession, concession, concede, accession, precedent, cessation, secession, recess, intercession, cede, 28 more

through Latin dēcēdō ‘to retire, to die’

decedent, 2 more

Today it means

noun One who precedes; one who has preceded another in any state, position, office, etc.; one whom another follows or comes after, in any office or position.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin cēdō / predecessor

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