Before you read this section about mnemonics, please STOP here NOW, and take a “pre-test” over the words that will be discussed. Even if you do well on this test, you may still come back for the presentation. So, please go to (click on) the Mnemonics "Seed" Quiz over -cede, -ceed, -sede words to see how well you can spell words that have the endings that are pronounced “seed”.
How to decide between -cede, -ceed, and -sede.
Problems: Is it supercede, superceed, or supersede? Is it accede or acceed? Is it proceed or preceed, and is it excede or exceed?
1. Of the twelve words, one, and only one, ends in the four letters -S-E-D-E. That one word is supersede
Supersede, is the only word in the entire English language that is spelled with the -sede ending.
Supersede was born in Rome thousands of years ago. It comes from Latin super, “above”, and sedeo, “to sit”.
If one thing supersedes another, it figuratively, and by derivation, “sits above or over it”; that is, “it replaces” something. An example: “The year 2000 will supersede 1999.”
Supersede is the only verb in English that derives directly from Latin sedeo, to sit, hence the only word with the -sede termination.
There are many nouns and adjectives that come indirectly from sedeo or one of its forms:
president, one who sits before a group;
sedentary, moving little, hence sitting, as in a sedentary occupation;
session, a sitting or meeting of a group of people;
sedate, calm, hence sitting still, etc.
2. There are three other unique words that you should learn, the three words that end in the letters -C-E-E-D: succeed, proceed, and exceed.
accede, to give consent; to become a party to an agreement or treaty.
antecede, to precede; that is, to come before in time or order.
cede, to surrender possession of formally or officially; to yield or grant, as by a treaty.
concede, 1. To acknowledge as true, just, or proper, often unwillingly; to admit by conceding the point. 2. To give or grant as a privilege or right.
intercede, to argue on another’s behalf; to act as a mediator in a dispute; to come between.
precede, to come before in time, in rank, or order.
recede, to move back or away from a limit, point, or mark.
secede, to withdraw formally from membership in an association, organization, or alliance, especially a political one.
Succeed starts with “s”.
Proceed starts with “p”, and means go ahead.
Exceed starts with “e”.
1. Any annoying doubt as to whether a word correctly ends in -ceed or -cede.
2. Any error in writing -cede for -ceed, or vice versa.
Speed ends in -eed.
The “s” of speed identifies succeed.
The “p” of speed identifies proceed.
The “e” of speed identifies exceed.
The ending of speed identifies the endings of all three words: succeed, proceed, exceed.
Finally, the word “ahead” in “Full Speed Ahead” identifies proceed, which means “go ahead”, and eliminates “precede”, which means “come before”.
Proceed, as you know, belongs to one of the three -ceed verbs, but the noun and adjective forms do not follow the same format. Contrary to what you might normally expect, these forms are spelled: procedure and procedural.
-sede.
Only one word in English ends in -sede, namely supersede.
Only three words in English end in -ceed, namely succeed, proceed, and exceed (mnemonic: Full speed Ahead).
All of the other words with a similar “seed” sound end in -cede.
Procedure and procedural; however, do not follow the pattern of proceed.
Now is a good time to test yourself.
Would you like to see if the mnemonic devices I have given to you function properly? If so, just click on this self-grading Mnemonics "Seed" Quiz again so you can re-take the -cede, -ceed, -sede words so you can see how easy it is to recognize the correct spelling of these words.