Progression

How to spell progression

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce progression

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does progression mean?

1. nounThe process of moving forward gradually toward a more advanced state, or a connected series of stages.
2. nounA series of musical chords that move from one to the next in a recognised pattern.

Progression in a sentence

• Her steady progression through the ranks impressed the whole department.

• The song repeats a simple four-chord progression throughout the verse.

• The textbook follows a logical progression from basic terms to complex theory.

• The guitarist taught me a blues progression in the key of E.

Where does progression come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin progressio, meaning 'an advance' or 'a going forward', which was built on the verb progredi, 'to step forward'. That verb joins pro, meaning 'forward', with gradi, 'to step or walk', so at heart progression literally describes the act of stepping ahead. English took it in during the late 1300s, partly through Old French, first in the sense of a steady advance toward something. The same gradi root steps quietly through a whole family of English words, including 'progress', 'gradual', 'grade', and even 'aggression', which originally meant a stepping toward someone in attack. Because the spelling carries a doubled 's' from the gress element followed by the -ion ending, writers sometimes drop a letter or add an extra one, so anchoring it to 'progress' plus -ion keeps it steady.

How the word is built

• pro- (forward)
• gress (from gradi: to step or walk)
• -ion (noun suffix denoting action or process)