Succession

How to spell succession

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce succession

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does succession mean?

1. nounA number of people or things following one after another in order.
2. nounThe right or process of inheriting a title, throne, office, or property from a previous holder.

Succession in a sentence

• The team lost three matches in quick succession.

• The lawyers reviewed the rules of succession for the family estate.

• A rapid succession of phone calls interrupted the meeting.

• Her eldest son was first in line of succession to the throne.

Where does succession come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin successio, meaning 'a coming after' or 'a following in order', which was formed from the verb succedere, 'to come after, follow, or take the place of another'. That verb joined the prefix sub-, here carrying the sense 'next after', with cedere, 'to go or move', so the literal idea was of one thing moving up to fill the spot just vacated. English took the word through Old French in the 1300s, first for the orderly passing of property, titles, and the throne from one holder to the next, and later for any simple sequence of things following one another. The same cedere root still powers a whole family of English words such as 'proceed', 'recede', and 'concede', and that buried Latin cess is why the middle of the word carries a double s before -ion rather than a single one. Remembering that two separate pieces collide, the suc- of sub- meeting the start of cess, helps explain the doubled c and the doubled s that catch so many writers out.

How the word is built

• suc- (from sub-: after, next)
• cess (from cedere: to go, move)
• -ion (noun suffix)