succession
[suh k-sesh-uh n]
- the coming of one person or thing after another in order, sequence, or in the course of events: many troubles in succession.
- a number of persons or things following one another in order or sequence.
- the right, act, or process, by which one person succeeds to the office, rank, estate, or the like, of another.
- the order or line of those entitled to succeed one another.
- the descent or transmission of a throne, dignity, estate, or the like.
- Also called ecological succession. Ecology. the progressive replacement of one community by another until a climax community is established.
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Origin of succession
Synonyms
See more synonyms for succession on Thesaurus.com2. See series.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for succession
Contemporary Examples
When, in succession, he made Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), and The Birds (1963).
“I was at first on a cot, and then in a succession of accommodations,” he says.
TR reinvigorated the office after a succession of grey presidents with his unself-conscious energy, idealism and determination.
From The Square Deal to The New Deal: The Overlapping Political Identities of TR and FDRJohn Avlon
September 9, 2014
At one point in this show, a variation of this happened, in succession.
Butts, ‘Bang Bang’ & Beyoncé: The Craziest MTV Video Music Awards MomentsKevin Fallon
August 25, 2014
Long before his immigration comments, the Governor punched through a succession of liberal hot-buttons: Marriage equality?
Historical Examples
So for two mornings in succession he was sent away from the office.
The DreamEmile Zola
Rank after rank in succession appeared: literally thousands.
The Leopard WomanStewart Edward White
He came ten days in succession, and gave me three hours each day.
My Double LifeSarah Bernhardt
Several doors were opened in succession, and finally his own.
A Tale of Two CitiesCharles Dickens
We are a succession of phenomena very absolutely determined.
Initiation into PhilosophyEmile Faguet
succession
- the act or an instance of one person or thing following another
- a number of people or things following one another in order
- the act, process, or right by which one person succeeds to the office, etc, of another
- the order that determines how one person or thing follows another
- a line of descent to a title, etc
- ecology the sum of the changes in the composition of a community that occur during its development towards a stable climax community
- in succession in a manner such that one thing is followed uninterruptedly by another
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Word Origin
C14: from Latin successio, from succēdere to succeed
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for succession
n.
early 14c., "fact or right of succeeding someone by inheritance," from Old French succession (13c.), from Latin successionem (nominative successio) "a following after, a coming into another's place, result," from successus, past participle of succedere (see succeed). Meaning "fact of being later in time" is late 14c.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
succession
[sək-sĕsh′ən]
- The gradual replacement of one type of ecological community by another in the same area, involving a series of orderly changes, especially in the dominant vegetation. Succession is usually initiated by a significant disturbance of an existing community. Each succeeding community modifies the physical environment, as by introducing shade or changing the fertility or acidity of the soil, creating new conditions that benefit certain species and inhibit others until a climax community is established.♦ The sequential development of plant and animal communities in an area in which no topsoil exists, as on a new lava flow, is called primary succession.♦ The development of such communities in an area that has been disturbed but still retains its topsoil, as in a burned-over area, is called secondary succession. See more at climax community.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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