Proceed

How to spell proceed

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce proceed

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does proceed mean?

1. verbTo begin or continue with an action or course, especially after a pause or formality.

Proceed in a sentence

• Once the documents are signed, the sale can proceed without delay.

• The committee voted to proceed with the new budget plan.

Where does proceed come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb procedere, which meant 'to go forward' or 'to advance', built from the prefix pro-, meaning 'forward' or 'onward', and the verb cedere, meaning 'to go' or 'to move'. English took it up in the late 1300s by way of Old French proceder, originally in the sense of moving onward in space and then, by natural extension, moving onward with an action or a piece of business. The same cedere root quietly powers a whole family of English words, including 'recede' (to go back), 'concede' (to give way), and the near-twin 'precede' (to go before), which is a frequent source of confusion. The notorious spelling trap is the ending: only three English verbs keep the doubled '-ceed' (proceed, exceed, succeed), while every other relative uses '-cede', so the doubled 'e' has to be memorised. Remembering that this word shares its tail with 'succeed' and 'exceed' is the surest way to avoid writing it as 'procede'.

How the word is built

• pro- (forward)
• ceed (from Latin cedere: to go, move)