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processus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word processus

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

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [proːˈkɛs.sʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [proˈt͡ʃɛs.sus][1]

Forms

prōcessus m (genitive prōcessūs); fourth declension[1]

Etymology

It is from prōcēdō “to go forward” with the suffix of action nouns -tus.[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Cicero, of progress towards an aim, as prōcessus dīcendī “progress in speaking”.[2][4] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant forward movement, progress, as in Seneca, and in Virgil the course of an event.[2][6] In Cicero it meant progress towards an aim, advance.[2] In Celsus it meant in medicine a protuberance, a process of a bone.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a process, legal process, course.[7] Medieval Latin used it for a procession, the right to pursue a lawsuit, and legal proceedings.[8] It survives in Italian processo and French procès, and Old French proces with the Latin gave English process in the early 14th century.[1][3]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of progress.[2][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of the course of events.[2][5]
  • 14–37 AD – Celsus uses it of a protuberance.[2][5]
  • early 14th century – English process is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Forward movement; course.[2]
  2. Progress, advance.[2]
  3. (medicine) A process, outgrowth.[2]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A procession; legal proceedings.[8]

Word family

  • prōcessiō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
Cite this entry

“Processus.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/processus. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·