Etymograph

English

subsecute

Subsecute comes from Latin subsecūtus ‘having followed close after or immediately,…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-1‘to follow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sékʷetor1‘to be following’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekʷōr1‘to follow, come/go after’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsequor1‘follow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsubsequor2‘follow close after’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsubsecūtus2‘having followed close after or immediately, having succeeded’past participle of subsequor
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1513–1518subsecute2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin subsequor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English subsecute
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1513–1518, Thomas More, London: […] Thomas Payne and M[atthew] Simmons: “But vvhen this crafty diſſembler Peter Landoyſe, vvhich vvas…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-Wiktionary, Latin subsequor‘to follow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sékʷetorWiktionary, Latin subsequor‘to be following’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekʷōrWiktionary, Latin subsequor‘to follow, come/go after’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsequorWiktionary, Latin subsequor‘follow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsubsequorWiktionary, English subsecute‘follow close after’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsubsecūtusWiktionary, English subsecute‘having followed close after or immediately, having succeeded’past participle of subsequor
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1513–1518subsecuteWiktionary, English subsecute. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1513–1518, Thomas More, London: […] Thomas Payne and M[atthew] Simmons: “But vvhen this crafty diſſembler Peter Landoyſe, vvhich vvas…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- ‘to follow’

say, see, social, saw, second, society, sight, executive, associate, sue, consequence, saga, subsequent, consequently, suite, intrinsic, sequential, dissociation, sequestration, extrinsic, dissociate, sequester, seg, 29 more

through Proto-Italic *sekʷōr ‘to follow, come/go after’

pursuit, suitor, 15 more

through Latin sequor ‘follow’

suit, sequence, pursue, sequel, consecutive, prosecution, execute, persecution, sect, consequent, ensue, executor, segue, sequitur, persecute, 17 more

Today it means

verb To follow closely, or so as to overtake; to pursue.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “subsecute”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin subsequor. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- / subsecute

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