supersession

English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin supersessiō, supersessiōnem, from supersedeō (“supersede”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /suːpəˈsɛʃ(ə)n/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /supɚˈsɛʃ(ə)n/

Noun

supersession (countable and uncountable, plural supersessions)

1. The act of superseding; the fact of having been superseded.
   • 1886, Henry James, The Princess Casamassima, London: Macmillan and Co.:

     Two points became perfectly clear: one was that she was thinking of something very different from her present, her past, or her future relations with Hyacinth Robinson; the other was that he was superseded indeed. This was so completely the case that it did not even occur to her, it was evident, that the sense of supersession might be cruel to the young man.

   • 1897 October 16, Henry James, What Maisie Knew, Chicago, Ill., New York, N.Y.: Herbert S. Stone & Co., →OCLC:

     Still excessively abundant, it was dressed in a manner of which the poor lady appeared not yet to have recognised the supersession, with a glossy braid, like a large diadem, on the top of the head […] .

Derived terms

• supersessional
• supersessionary

Anagrams

• suspensories