precedere

Forms

precedere (first-person singular present precèdo, first-person singular past historic precedétti or (traditional) precedètti or precedéi, past participle precedùto, auxiliary avére)^[1]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Latin praecēdō (“to go before”).^[2][3][4][1] DEI also names French précéder, recorded from the 14th century, beside the Latin verb.^[5] The Latin verb is formed prae- (“before”) and cēdō (“to go”).^[2][4][6] Nocentini names Spanish preceder beside the French word.^[3]

According to de Vaan, the simple verb first meant “to give way, withdraw”, and Lubotsky connects it with Sanskrit and Avestan verbs for “to drive away”, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱiesdʰ-.^[7] De Vaan finds the older analysis as “here” plus a root “to sit” unconvincing.^[7]

The participle precedente comes from Latin praecedentem, and its use as a noun, “precedent”, is a calque on the English word precedent, probably through French.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the verb to about 1260, and Nocentini and Devoto–Oli to the second half of the 13th century.^[4][3][8] DELI's first records are in Dante, before 1321, both for “to go ahead” and for “to come earlier”: in the Purgatorio the psalmist goes before the holy ark dancing, li precedeva al benedetto vaso, / trescando alzato, l'umile salmista.^[2][9]

Semantic evolution

Dante also has l'alba che precede al giorno, the dawn that comes before the day, and the shepherd che precede, the leader who goes ahead of the flock.^[10] The intransitive construction with a is still recorded beside the transitive one.^[4][10] The old past tense precessi and participle precesso gave way to precedetti and preceduto.^[8][9] DEI dates the sense “to have precedence over” to 1562.^[5]

Today the verb is used for going ahead of someone, coming before in a sequence or in time, anticipating someone, and, figuratively, ranking above in authority.^[4][8][11]

Timeline

• About 1260 – GRADIT's date for the first record of precedere.^[4]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses the verb for “to go ahead” and “to come earlier”.^[2]
• 1562 – The sense “to have precedence” is recorded.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To precede, go ahead of someone or something; also intransitive in older use.^[4][8][11]
2. To come before in an order or sequence: l'introduzione precede il racconto.^[4][8][11]
3. To come earlier in time; to anticipate someone in doing something.^[4][8]
4. (figurative) To rank above, surpass in authority or importance.^[4][11][8]

Word family

• precedente
• precedenza

Related words

• cedere
• procedere
• precessione
• Latin praecēdō
• French précéder

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3052
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 14, 39
10. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse