Etymologically
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proceed

Etymology and origin of the English word proceed

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1380
Borrowed from
Old French proceder
Ultimate origin
Latin (procedo)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin procedo
English proceed

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pɹəˈsiːd/ (UK); /pɹəˈsid/, /ˈpɹoʊsid/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English proceden, borrowed from Old French proceder and directly borrowed from Latin prōcēdere (“to go forward, advance”),[2][3][4] from pro (“forward”) and cēdere (“to go”),[3][5][6] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *ked- (“to go, yield”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To spread or continue; to come or result from: about 1380, in Chaucer.[2][3] The OED has to go on with an action from about 1400.[7]

Semantic evolution

To go or travel forward is from about 1430,[7] and to begin and carry on a legal action from about 1440.[7] To emanate from a source is late 14th-century.[3] A noun proceed, the manner of proceeding, is from 1628 and obsolete;[7] proceeds, what results from something, especially money from a sale, is from 1643.[7][8]

Timeline

  • c. 1380 – to continue; to result from.[2]
  • c. 1430 – to go forward.[7]
  • c. 1440 – to take legal action.[7]
  • 1643 – proceeds (noun).[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To begin or continue a course of action.
  2. To go forward or onward, especially after stopping.
  3. (law) To start a legal action against someone.
  4. To come forth as from a source; to originate.

Word family

  • proceeder

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Proceed.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/proceed. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·