Advertisement

Origin and history of proceed

proceed(v.)

late 14c., proceden, "to go, go on, move in a certain direction, go about one's business," also "to emanate from, result from; to issue or come, as from an origin or course," from Old French proceder (13c., Modern French procéder) and directly from Latin procedere (past participle processus) "go before, go forward, advance, make progress; come forward," from pro "forward" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward") + cedere "to go" (from PIE root *ked- "to go, yield"). Related: Proceeded; proceeding.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to proceed

proceeding(n.)

early 15c., "act of continuing a process;" mid-15c., "action of going forward, procession," verbal noun from proceed (v.). From 1550s as "what is done, conduct, a measure or step taken." Proceedings "records of the doings of a society" is attested by 1824.

cede(v.)

1630s, "to yield, give way," from French céder or directly from Latin cedere "to yield, give place; to give up some right or property," originally "to go from, proceed, leave" (from Proto-Italic *kesd-o- "to go away, avoid," from PIE root *ked- "to go, yield").

The original sense in English is now archaic; the transitive meaning "yield or formally surrender (something) to another" is from 1754. The sense evolution in Latin is via the notion of "go away, withdraw, give ground." Related: Ceded; ceding.

Latin cedere, with prefixes attached, is the source of a great many English words: accede, concede, exceed, precede, proceed, recede, secede, etc.

Advertisement

More to explore

process
early 14c., proces, "fact of being carried on" (as in in process), from Old French proces "a journey; continuation, development; legal trial" (13c.) and directly from Latin processus "a going forward, advance, progress," from past-participle stem of procedere "go forward" (see pr
procession
late Old English, "set of persons walking or riding formally or with ceremonious solemnity; a religious procession; the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem," from Old French procession "procession" (religious or secular), 11c., and directly from Late Latin processionem (nomin
continue
mid-14c., contynuen, "maintain, sustain, preserve;" late 14c., "go forward or onward; persevere in," from Old French continuer (13c.) and directly from Latin continuare "join together in uninterrupted succession, make or be continuous, do successively one after another," from con
emanation
nominative emanatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin emanare "flow out, spring out of," figuratively "arise, proceed...
wend
"to proceed on, to direct (one's course or way)," Old English wendan "to turn, direct, go; convert, translate," from Proto-Germanic...
persecute
open legal action" (14c.) and directly from Latin persecutus, past participle of persequi "to follow, pursue, hunt down; proceed...
ago
early 14c., a shortened form of agon "departed, passed away," past participle of a now-obsolete verb ago, agon "to go, proceed...
drag
late 14c., draggen, "to draw a grapnel along the bottom of a river, lake, etc., in search of something;" late 15c., "to draw away by force, pull haul," from Old Norse draga, or a dialectal variant of Old English dragan "to draw," both from Proto-Germanic *draganan "to draw, pull,
jog
1540s, "to shake up and down," perhaps altered from Middle English shoggen "to shake, jolt, move with a jerk" (late 14c.), a word of uncertain origin. Meanings "touch or push slightly," "stir up or stimulate by hint or push," and "walk or ride with a jolting pace" all are from 16
head
Old English heafod "top of the body," also "upper end of a slope," also "chief person, leader, ruler; capital city," from Proto-Germanic *haubid (source also of Old Saxon hobid, Old Norse hofuð, Old Frisian haved, Middle Dutch hovet, Dutch hoofd, Old High German houbit, German Ha

Share proceed

Advertisement
Trending
Dictionary entries near proceed
Advertisement