Talk:supersede

How is it that this is the only word in English (that I know of) ending in sede? Most of the time this syllable is spelled "ceed". —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.113.253.220 (talk • contribs) 14:45, 6 September 2004 (UTC)

Or "cede", which I thought was more likely related. Apparently supersede comes from root words with both the "cede" and "sede" spellings. The "sede" is Latin. I assume that it took "sede" instead of "cede" by essentially random chance... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.124.207.223 (talk • contribs) 06:29, 29 October 2004 (UTC)


 * The word is NOT spelt "cede" - It does not derive from "yielding". This cede is not a less common spelling - it is wrong. -- SGBailey 10:58, 12 Nov 2004 (UTC)


 * Here's the link I mentioned elsewhere, which is supported by prevalence in Google: supersede is less than 4 times as common as supercede, as opposed to superceed, which is two orders of magnitude less common than either. Given that the "cede" spelling goes back to Middle English, there seems to be ample precedent.  Etymology is important in English orthography, but it's not paramount. -dmh 14:45, 12 Nov 2004 (UTC)

An interesting thing about the English language is that it can change. While supercede was perhaps once considered an incorrect spelling, this is utterly irrelevant. It IS found in popular dictionaries (e.g. Merriam-Webster). —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 128.113.137.111 (talk • contribs) 04:39, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

Displace in favour of another? In favour of self, surely.
if I displaced something in favour of another, I would not say "I superseded the X", I would say "I replaced the X with Y". To supersede is surely an active verb in which the actor replaces something with itself. Is there a good way of phrasing "To displace in favour of the active party"? I am not an experienced lexicographer. PhilHibbs (talk) 10:28, 15 May 2018 (UTC)


 * Better now? I also changed the "nobody could supersede his sister" example: it sounded unrealistic. Equinox ◑ 17:36, 15 May 2018 (UTC)