Skip to main content

etymology - What happened to "proceed" and "precede"?


As far as I can tell, these words have practically identical etymologies, both with the suffix coming from the Latin cedere, which means to "go", then to the Old French "proceder" and "preceder" respectively. What happened that caused "proceed" to be spelled this way, instead of "procede"? Why did one diverge, but the other didn't?



Answer



When proceed entered English in the late 14th century, it was spelled similarly to Latin and French: procede, and until the 18th century, this spelling competed with the original. Precede is first attested somewhat later, but the spelling preceed soon arose, and to judge by the results in a Google Books query, there are still modern writers confused by the spelling. In the 16th and 17th centuries, there was no recognized authority capable of regulating the chaos of English orthography, so authors were free to choose any spelling, which might vary even within one work.



It is fit that the Lords of Session, who have but a Temporary Precedency, should not preceed them. — Sir George Mackenzie, Observations Upon the Laws and Customs of Nations, as to Precedency, 1680.


And warn the foresaid S. that then he be there to preceed in the plea foresaid, and to doe and receive what our court shall consider in the premises. — Anthony Fitzherbert, The New Natura Brevium of the Most Reverend Judge, Mr. Anthony ..., 1652.


…and howe I should in loue procede. — John Stow, ed., Woorkes of Geffrey Chaucer, 1561


…we now procede to the bodye of Antichriſtianiſme… — Theophilus Gale, The Court of the Gentiles, 1672.



By the time this chaos reaches Samuel Johnson's dictionary of 1755 it has become ordered into the modern — but often still confused — spellings that dictionaries prescribe. Both precede and proceed are consistently spelled as today, but in the entry for celestial, Johnson duly notes Pope‘s alternate spelling in an illustrative verse:



Thus affable and mild, the prince procedes,
And to the dome th' unknown celestial leads. Pope's Odyssey.



After Johnson, alternative spellings become quite rare, mostly appearing in citations from older works, or, of course, from the French. Whether this normalization into contrasting spellings was due to Johnson's influence or trends in orthography to which his dictionary is a witness, it's pointless to search for a specific reason why precede won out over preceed or proceed over procede — even more remarkable with the word procedure floating about. Orthography, like virtually all features of language, is a matter of one writer or speaker simply imitating another, and these spellings are the result.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in  The Outsiders  by S. E. Hinton and  Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy.  In both  The Outsiders  and  Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While   socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In  The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In  Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...
Post a Comment
Read more