Etymograph

English

subsequent

Subsequent is borrowed from Middle French subséquent, from Latin subsequēns, present participle of subsequor ‘to follow’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsequor1‘to follow’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsubsequor1‘to follow, succeed’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsubsequēns1as subsequentis‘following’
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600subséquent1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1895subsequent1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English subsequent
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1895, William Morris Davis, The Development of Certain English Rivers: “The peculiar position of the subsequent Derwent, close to…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsequorWiktionary, English subsequent‘to follow’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsubsequorWiktionary, English subsequent‘to follow, succeed’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsubsequēnsWiktionary, English subsequentas subsequentis‘following’
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600subséquentWiktionary, English subsequent
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1895subsequentWiktionary, English subsequent. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1895, William Morris Davis, The Development of Certain English Rivers: “The peculiar position of the subsequent Derwent, close to…”

Linked words

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

say, see, second, social, saw, society, executive, sight, suit, associate, consecutive, execute, prosecution, pursue, saga, sue, sequence, persecution, sect, intrinsic, sequel, consequently, sequential, 46 more

Today it means

adj Following in time; coming or being after something else at any time, indefinitely.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “subsequent”. 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 sequor / subsequent

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