Etymograph

English

predecessor

Predecessor comes from Old French predecesseor ‘forebear’, from Latin dēcessor ‘retiring officer’, and ultimately from cēdō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcēdō1
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcēdō2‘to retire, to die’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcessor2‘retiring officer’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpraedēcessor2
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400predecesseor2‘forebear’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500predecessour2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1849predecessor2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin decedo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English predecessor
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1849, – 1850 November, Charles Dickens: “I thought about my predecessor, who had died of…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcēdōWiktionary, Latin decedo
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcēdōWiktionary, English predecessor‘to retire, to die’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcessorWiktionary, English predecessor‘retiring officer’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpraedēcessorWiktionary, English predecessor
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400predecesseorWiktionary, English predecessor‘forebear’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500predecessourWiktionary, English predecessor
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1849predecessorWiktionary, English predecessor. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1849, – 1850 November, Charles Dickens: “I thought about my predecessor, who had died of…”

Linked words

through Latin cēdō

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

through Latin dēcēdō ‘to retire, to die’

decedent, 2 more

Today it means

noun One who precedes; one who has preceded another in any state, position, office, etc.; one whom another follows or comes after, in any office or position.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “predecessor”; 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 / predecessor

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