proceeding

Proceeding is a noun with several related senses. It can denote the act of moving forward in a process, the course of events in a sequence, or a formal action taken within a legal, administrative, or organizational setting. The plural proceedings is commonly used for formal legal actions and for the official records of meetings or conferences, and it can also refer to published collections of papers from a conference.

Etymology: from Latin procedere, “to go forward.”

In law, proceedings are the formal steps and documents involved in pursuing or defending a case. Phrases include “to commence proceedings,” “court proceedings,” and “the proceedings were adjourned.” They may include filings, hearings, judgments, and orders.

In governance and administration, proceedings describe the procedures and actions taken during a session or within an organization, and may be published as minutes or a transcript when recorded officially.

In academia, conference proceedings are a collection of papers presented at a conference, sometimes peer-reviewed, sometimes not, and published as a proceedings volume or online.