Etymologically
Log in

successivus

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 18:47. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [sʊk.kɛsˈsiː.wʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [sut.t͡ʃesˈsiː.vus][1]

Forms

successīvus (feminine successīva, neuter successīvum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin succēdō (“to follow, succeed”), formed on its past participle stem ⟨success-⟩ with the suffix -īvus.[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates its first medieval use to 1125, after Latham's dictionary,[4] meaning “following one after another”.[4][2]

Semantic evolution

In British medieval Latin it meant following one another, coming in stages, or gradual;[2] of time, following or subsequent; and hereditary, passed on by succession, as in the phrase successīvō iūre “by right of inheritance”.[2] Ecclesiastical Latin uses it for “following, successive”, with the adverb successīvē.[5]

English successive (early 15th century) comes from Old French successif and directly from the Medieval Latin word,[3] and Italian successivo from it as a Late Latin word.[6]

Timeline

  • 1125 – First medieval use recorded by Latham.[4]
  • 1286 – A British text speaks of cares that follow one another.[2]
  • 1355 – Used of times following one another.[2]
  • early 15th century – English borrows it as successive.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (Medieval Latin) Following one another, successive; done in stages, gradual.[2][5][4]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Of time: following, subsequent.[2]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Hereditary, passed on by succession.[2]

Usage notes

Wiktionary treats successīvus as an alternative form of succīsīvus.[1] In Lactantius, Lewis & Short call successīvus a false reading for succīsīva,[7] while Gaffiot keeps it in the sense “that follows”;[8] Conte cites it from Tertullian as a conjecture.[6]

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 Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.