Word of the Day

: October 10, 2010

supersede

verb soo-per-SEED

What It Means

1 : to cause to be set aside

2 : to take the place or position of

3 : to displace in favor of another

supersede in Context

The special-effects technologies used in films of the 20th century have been superseded by developments in computer-generated imagery.

"Wednesday's appeals court ruling supersedes a decision issued Monday by State Supreme Court Justice Donna M. Siwek." -- From an article by Dan Herbeck and Aaron Besecker in Buffalo News, September 2, 2010

Did You Know?

"Supersede" ultimately derives from the Latin verb "supersedēre," meaning "to be superior to," but it came to us through Middle English, where it was rendered "superceden." It may be no surprise that modern English speakers can be confused about how to spell this word -- it sometimes turns up as "supercede." In fact, the earliest record of the word in English shows it spelled with a "c" (although the "s" spelling has been the dominant choice since it first appeared in the 16th century). Although both spellings can be etymologically justified, "supersede" continues to be regarded as the "correct" version. "Supercede" can be considered a variant (albeit the less frequent one) after several centuries of use, but it still draws criticism.

Quick Quiz: What 7-letter word beginning with a "r" is a synonym of "supersede"? The answer is ...