Where does “successful” come from?
Successful derives from English success, from Latin successus, from Latin succedere meaning to go under or follow, from Latin cedo meaning to go, tracing to Proto-Indo-European pleh₁- meaning to fill.
successful (English): Resulting in success; assuring, or promoting,...
Definitions
- Resulting in success; assuring, or promoting,...
Ancestry of “successful”, step by step
successful traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English success
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | success | The achievement of one's aim or goal; Financial... |
| 2 | Italian | successo | success |
| 3 | Latin | successus | course, flow (of time), approach |
| 4 | Latin | succēdere | — |
| 5 | Latin | sub | under, beneath; behind; at the feet of |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | supo | under |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |
via English ful
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ful | — |