Etymologically
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subsequent

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 02:53. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈsʌb.sɪ.kwənt/, /ˈsʌb.sə.kwənt/, US /ˈsʌb.sɪ.kwənt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French subséquent and directly borrowed from Latin subsequēns (“following closely”),[2][3][4] the present participle of subsequī (“to follow closely, come after”),[3][2] from sub- (“closely, up to”) and sequī (“to follow”),[3][2] from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to follow”).[3] See sequel.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Coming after, following in order: about 1450 in Barnhart, before 1460 in the OED, the mid-15th century in Etymonline.[2][5][3]

Semantic evolution

Following in time, later, is from 1503–04,[5] and subsequent to, after, from 1647.[5] The Latin verb could also mean “to imitate, conform to”.[3] In physical geography a subsequent stream is one that has formed its course along the softer rocks, from 1862.[5] The noun, a person or thing that follows, is from 1603 and obsolete.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 1450 – following in order.[2]
  • 1503 – following in time.[5]
  • 1647 – subsequent to.[5]
  • 1862 – in geography.[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Coming after something else in time or order; following or later.
  2. (subsequent to) After.

Word family

  • subsequently
  • subsequentness

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ 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