Precede, Proceed
These two words have similar sounds. They also have similar definitions, encompassing an idea of forward movement. This leads to some confusion. Precede is to go before. Proceed means to move ahead, to continue.
The verb precede means to come before in time, order, or rank. The past tense of precede is preceded. The adjective form of precede is preceding, which means existing, happening, or coming before in time or in place.
The verb proceed means to go forward, continue, or do something after you have done something else. Proceed also means to come from a source. The past tense of proceed is proceeded. The plural noun proceeds means the amount of money received from a particular activity or event.
The two words share a root, cede, which comes from the Latin cedere, which originally meant to go. With precede, the prefix pre- means before.So precede is to go before. In proceed, the prefix pro- means forward, and therefore proceed is to go forward. (Description from Vocabulary.com and ThoughtCo) |