procedir

Procedir is a verb found in several Romance languages, most prominently in Catalan, with meanings related to moving forward, carrying out a sequence of actions, or following a procedure. It is a cognate of the English word “proceed” and of the Spanish verb proceder. The etymological origin is Latin procedere, meaning to go forward or advance.

The main senses of procedor include: to proceed with an action or plan—starting or continuing to do something; to originate from or derive from a source; and, in certain contexts, to be appropriate or warranted, as in expressions that indicate something is not justified or required (for example, in Spanish the related form no procede expresses a lack of justification or necessity).

In terms of language use, Catalan uses procedir as the infinitive, while Spanish typically uses proceder; Portuguese uses proceder as its infinitive as well. All these forms share the core idea of advancing, acting according to a plan or rule, or deriving from a prior cause. Procedir tends to appear more often in formal, technical, or legal contexts, whereas the everyday action of moving forward is often expressed with the respective language’s standard cognate verb.

Usage notes: speakers may encounter procedir primarily in formal or specialized texts, with closer equivalents in their own languages commonly used in ordinary speech. The concept also overlaps with related terms such as proceed and procedure in cross-language discussions of process, progress, and causation.