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praecedo

Etymology and origin of the Latin word praecedo

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Caesar
Ultimate origin
Latin (cēdō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [prae̯ˈkeː.doː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [preˈt͡ʃɛː.do][1]

Forms

praecēdō (present infinitive praecēdere, perfect active praecessī, supine praecessum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from prae- “before” and cēdō “to go”.[2][1][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis and Short say it seems not to occur in Cicero, Nepos, Tacitus or Sallust, and only once in Caesar, who uses it of the Helvetii excelling the other Gauls.[5][6] Köbler dates Caesar about 50 BC.[7]

Semantic evolution

It meant to go in front, go ahead of, precede, as in Virgil and Livy.[2][6] In Celsus it meant to come earlier in time, and in Seneca to anticipate.[2] In Quintilian it meant to come before in a sequence, in Pliny the Elder and Caesar to excel, and in Livy to surpass.[2][6] In Gaius it meant to take precedence, rank before.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to go before, precede, prepare.[8] It survives in Italian precedere and French précéder, and English precede came in the early 15th century.[1][4] Late Latin praecessiō gave English precession.[1][4]

Timeline

  • c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of excelling.[6][7]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of going ahead.[2][7]
  • 14–37 AD – Celsus uses it of coming earlier.[2][7]
  • early 15th century – English precede is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To go before, precede.[2]
  2. To come earlier; to anticipate.[2]
  3. To come before in a sequence.[2]
  4. To excel, surpass.[2]
  5. To take precedence.[2]

Word family

  • praecessor
  • praecīdāneus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Praecedo.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/praecedo. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·