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Origin and history of succeed

succeed(v.)

late 14c., succeden, intransitive and transitive, "come next after, follow after another; take the place of another," especially "be heir to, be successor to" also "be elected or chosen for" a position, from Old French succeder "to follow on" (14c.) and directly from Latin succedere "come after, follow after; go near to; come under; take the place of," also "go from under, mount up, ascend," hence "get on well, prosper, be victorious." This is from sub "next to, after" (see sub-) + cedere "go, move" (from PIE root *ked- "to go, yield").

In reference to deeds or dealings, the sense of "turn out well, arrive at a happy issue, have a favorable result, terminate according to desire" in English is by early 15c., with ellipsis of adverb (succeed well). Of persons, "to be successful," from c. 1500. Related: Succeeded; succeeder; succeeding; succedent "following, consequent."

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to succeed

succedaneous(adj.)

"supplying the place of something else," 1640s, with -ous + Latin succedaneus "succeeding, acting as substitute" (see succeed).

The noun succedaneum (the Latin neuter form) is attested by 1660s, earlier Englished as succedane (c. 1600), succedany (1650s), "a substitute, one who or that which supplies the place of another," especially of inferior drugs substituted for better ones. Related: Succedaneal.

succession(n.)

early 14c., successioun, "fact or right of succeeding someone by inheritance," from Old French succession "inheritance; a following on" (13c.) and directly from Latin successionem (nominative successio) "a following after, a coming into another's place, result," noun of action from successus, past participle of succedere (see succeed).

The meaning "fact of being later in time" is late 14c. The meaning "a regular sequence, a following of things in order" is from mid-15c.

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precede
early 15c., preceden, "lead the way; occur or exist before, go before in order of time," from Old French preceder and directly from Latin praecedere "to go before," from prae "before" (see pre-) + cedere "to go" (from PIE root *ked- "to go, yield"). Meaning "to walk in front of"
fail
c. 1200, "be unsuccessful in accomplishing a purpose;" also "cease to exist or to function, come to an end;" early 13c. as "fail in expectation or performance," from Old French falir "be lacking, miss, not succeed; run out, come to an end; err, make a mistake; be dying; let down,
follow
Middle English folwen, from Old English folgian, fylgian, fylgan "to accompany (especially as a disciple), move in the same direction as; follow after, pursue, move behind in the same direction," also "obey (a rule or law), conform to, act in accordance with; apply oneself to (a
reach
Old English ræcan, reccan "to reach out, stretch or extend outward, hold forth, extend in continuity or scope," also "to succeed...in touching, succeed in striking;" also "to address, speak to," also "to offer, present, give, grant."...The meaning "arrive at, succeed in getting to" is early 14c.; that of "succeed in influencing" is from 1660s....
nail
The colloquial meaning "secure, succeed in catching or getting hold of (someone or something)" is by 1760; hence "to arrest...Meaning "to succeed in hitting" is from 1886. To nail down "to fix down with nails" is from 1660s....
speed
speden, "achieve one's goal, accomplish one's purpose, get on successfully," from Old English spedan (intransitive) "to succeed...Compare Old Saxon spodian, Middle Dutch spoeden "hasten," Old High German spuoton "to succeed, prosper," German sputen "make...
taw
tawa, Old Saxon toian, Middle Dutch tauwen, Dutch touwen, Old High German zouwen "to prepare," Old High German zawen "to succeed...
attain
c. 1300, "succeed in reaching, come so near as to touch," from ataign-, stem of Old French ataindre "to come up to, reach, attain, endeavor, strive" (11c., Modern French atteindre), from Vulgar Latin *attangere, corresponding to Latin attingere "to touch; arrive at," from ad "to"
supersede
mid-15c., "postpone, defer" (senses now obsolete), from Latin supersedere, etymologically "sit on top of;" also, with ablative, "stay clear of, abstain from, forbear, refrain from," from super "above" (see super-) + sedere "to sit" (from PIE root *sed- (1) "to sit"). The modern s
achieve
early 14c., acheven, "to perform, execute, accomplish;" late 14c., "gain as a result of effort," from Old French achever (12c.) "to finish, accomplish, complete," from phrase à chef (venir) "at an end, finished," or Vulgar Latin *accapare, from Late Latin ad caput (venire); both

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