succédées

Succédées is the feminine plural form of the past participle succédé, used as an adjective when describing feminine plural nouns. The verb succéder means to come after or to take the place of, in a temporal or hierarchical sense. Consequently, succédé as an adjective agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies: des périodes succédées (feminine plural) and des événements succédés (masculine plural).

In practice, succédées is relatively rare in everyday language. More common is the construction with se succéder or with successive forms such as “qui se sont succédées” to express a sequence of items that followed one another. The participle succédé, and by extension succédées, thus often appear in more formal or literary contexts, where the emphasis is on a chain of events, periods, or elements that have followed one another.

Etymology and related forms: succédées derives from Latin succedere, “to come after.” Related terms include succéder (to succeed), successeur (successor), succession (the act or result of succeeding), and the adjective successif/successive (conveying the sense of being sequential).

Notes: While succédées can be correct in appropriate feminine plural contexts, modern French frequently prefers alternative expressions such as des périodes qui se sont succédées or des successives pour conveying the same idea more directly. See also: succéder, succession, successif, successive.