Main Entry: suc·ces·sion

Pronunciation: \sək-ˈse-shən\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French or Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin succession-, successio, from succedere

Date: 14th century

1 a : the order in which or the conditions under which one person after another succeeds to a property, dignity, title, or throne b : the right of a person or line to succeed c : the line having such a right
2 a : the act or process of following in order : sequence b (1) : the act or process of one person's taking the place of another in the enjoyment of or liability for rights or duties or both (2) : the act or process of a person's becoming beneficially entitled to a property or property interest of a deceased person c : the continuance of corporate personality d : unidirectional change in the composition of an ecosystem as the available competing organisms and especially the plants respond to and modify the environment
3 a : a number of persons or things that follow each other in sequence b : a group, type, or series that succeeds or displaces another

— suc·ces·sion·al \-ˈsesh-nəl, -ˈse-shə-n^əl\ adjective

— suc·ces·sion·al·ly adverb