successive

Pronunciation

• IPA: /səkˈsɛsɪv/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English successif, borrowed from Old French successif and directly Medieval Latin successīvus,^[2][3][4] from successus, the past participle of succēdō (“to come after, follow”) (see succeed).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Coming one after another in time or order: 1432–50 in the OED, the early 15th century in Etymonline.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Descending by succession or inheritance is an obsolete sense of the same date,^[5] and of persons, succeeding by inheritance, from 1592.^[5] Continuous or uninterrupted is from 1586, and successful from 1582, both obsolete.^[5] Characterized by succession, produced in stages, is from 1685.^[5]

Timeline

• 1432–50 – following in order; inherited.^[5]
• 1582 – successful (obsolete).^[5]
• 1595 – next in succession.^[5]
• 1685 – produced in succession.^[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Following one after another without interruption; consecutive: for the third successive year.
2. Relating to or involving succession.

Word family

• successively
• successiveness
• unsuccessive
• nonsuccessive

Related words

• succeed
• success
• succession
• successor

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press