procession

[ pruh-sesh-uh n ]
/ prəˈsɛʃ ən /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR procession ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act of moving along or proceeding in orderly succession or in a formal and ceremonious manner, as a line of people, animals, vehicles, etc.
the line or body of persons or things moving along in such a manner.
Ecclesiastical. an office, litany, etc., said or sung in a religious procession.
Theology. the emanation of the Holy Spirit from the Father and later, in the Western Church, from the Son: distinguished from the “generation” of the Son and the “unbegottenness” of the Father.
the act of coming forth from a source.

verb (used without object)

to go in procession.

Origin of procession

before 1150; early Middle English (< Old French) < Late Latin prōcessiōn- (stem of prōcessiō) a religious procession, literally, a marching on. See process, -ion

Words nearby procession

process theology, process-server, processed cheese, processible, processing tax, procession, processional, processionary, processionary moth, processive, processor

VOCAB BUILDER

What does procession mean?

A procession is a line of people or vehicles moving along in an orderly and often ceremonial way.

A very common example is a funeral procession, which is the line of cars or people traveling together to a burial. A parade is another kind of procession.

Procession is the noun form of the verb process, meaning to proceed in or as if in a procession.

Example: The procession was so long that they had to block traffic so it could stay together.

Where does procession come from?

The first records of the word procession come from the 1100s. It comes from the Latin word prōcessiōn-, which refers to a religious procession and literally means “a marching on” or “a marching forward.” The verb process is in fact a back formation of procession—which means the word procession came first and the verb process formed from it.

Processions are usually at least somewhat formal, and they’re often seen at religious or other ceremonial gatherings. At graduations, students and faculty members often enter in a long procession. Similar processions are seen during religious ceremonies or events like weddings. Funeral processions allow mourners to stay together so that they can arrive at the burial site or other ceremony at the same time.

A fancy name for a ceremonial procession is cortege.

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What are some other forms related to procession?

What are some synonyms for procession?

What are some words that share a root or word element with procession? 

 

What are some words that often get used in discussing procession?

 

How is procession used in real life?

Procession is perhaps most commonly used in the phrase funeral procession. It usually refers to something that’s formal and ceremonial.

 

 

Try using procession!

At which of the following events might there be a procession?

A. funeral
B. wedding
C. graduation
D. all of the above

 

Words related to procession

succession, cortege, motorcade, advance, run, cavalcade, process, series, column, course, train, file, march, cycle, order, string, movement, consecution, autocade

Example sentences from the Web for procession

British Dictionary definitions for procession

procession
/ (prəˈsɛʃən) /

noun

the act of proceeding in a regular formation
a group of people or things moving forwards in an orderly, regular, or ceremonial manner
a hymn, litany, etc, sung in a procession
Christianity the emanation of the Holy Spirit

verb

(intr) rare to go in procession

Word Origin for procession

C12: via Old French from Latin prōcessiō a marching forwards