Etymograph

English

decedent

Decedent comes from Latin decedens ‘withdrawing’, from dēcēdō ‘to depart, die’, and ultimately from cēdō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcēdō1
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcēdō2as decedere, present active participle‘to depart, die’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdecedens2‘withdrawing’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1846decedent2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin decedo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English decedent
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1846, Pennsylvania Law Journal: “satisfy every claimant upon the estate of a decedent…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcēdōWiktionary, Latin decedo
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcēdōWiktionary, English decedentas decedere, present active participle‘to depart, die’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdecedensWiktionary, English decedent‘withdrawing’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1846decedentWiktionary, English decedent. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1846, Pennsylvania Law Journal: “satisfy every claimant upon the estate of a decedent…”

Linked words

through Latin cēdō

process, success, necessary, procedure, accessible, excess, succeed, cease, recession, concession, accession, recess, cessation, secession, concede, precedent, intercession, cede, 28 more

through Latin dēcēdō ‘to depart, die’

predecessor, 2 more

Today it means

noun A dead person.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “decedent”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin decedo. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin cēdō / decedent

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