consecutív

Consecutív is an adjective used in some Romance languages, particularly Catalan, to denote something that follows in time or order. In English, the equivalent is consecutive or successive. The term is employed in descriptions of sequences, where elements occur one after another without gaps.

Etymology and cognates

Consecutív derives from Latin consecutivus, formed from con- “together” and sequi “to follow.” Related forms appear in several languages: Catalan consecutiu/consecutiva, Spanish consecutivo/consecutiva, French consécutif/consécutive, and Italian consecutivo/consecutiva. The underlying sense across these languages is the idea of items arranged or occurring in a continuous sequence.

Usage

Consecutív is used to characterize sequences in time, order, or logic. Examples include three consecutive days, a series of events that occur in sequence, or a set of numbers that follow one another without gaps. In linguistic and grammatical description, the term may appear in discussions of sequential constructions, where clauses or phrases express a progression of actions or states. It is often complemented by phrases indicating immediacy or continuity, such as “in consecutive order” or “without interruption.”

Variants and related terms

In different languages, the exact form changes to match gender and number: consecutiu/consecutiva in Catalan, consecutivo/consecutiva in Spanish and Italian, consécutif/consécutive in French. The English counterpart is consecutive. Related concepts include sequence, succession, and serial ordering, which are used across mathematics, linguistics, and everyday description.

See also

Consecutive numbers, sequential logic, series, order.