English
succeed
Succeed comes from Old French succeder ‘to succeed’, from Latin succedo ‘to go under, go from under, come under,…’, 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 CEsuccedoas succedere‘to go under, go from under, come under, approach, follow, take the place of’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400succeder‘to succeed’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603succeed
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 CEsuccedoas succedere‘to go under, go from under, come under, approach, follow, take the place of’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400succeder‘to succeed’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603succeed
Earliest quotation: c. 1603, William Shakespeare: “Else let my brother die, / If not a…”
The story
Partly displaced English speed, of which the original sense “to succeed” only survives in a few fossilized expressions such as Godspeed.
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *kezdō
excessive, procession, inaccessible, recessive, precession, 13 more
through Latin cēdō ‘to go, move, proceed, go along, move along’
process, necessary, procedure, excess, accessible, cease, recession, predecessor, precedent, concession, recess, secession, concede, cessation, accession, intercession, secede, cede, 29 more
Today it means
verb To follow something in sequence or time.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *kezdō / succeed