suceso

Suceso is a Spanish noun that designates an event, occurrence, or incident. It conveys not just any happening but one that is noteworthy or consequential, often in a news, historical, or narrative context. The term tends to carry a sense of significance or impact beyond a mere fact.

Origin and form: Suceso derives from the verb suceder, meaning to occur, with the noun-forming suffix -eso. Its use developed in medieval and modern Spanish to refer to a fact that has importance or consequence. It is distinct from éxtito, which denotes success, and from evento, which can refer to a more neutral or planned occurrence in some contexts.

Usage and nuance: In journalism, un suceso refers to a news event or incident. In historical writing, los sucesos denote notable episodes, sometimes with dramatic or sensational overtones. In everyday language, suceso appears in formal registers; more common synonyms in ordinary speech include evento or ocurrencia. The word can imply that something has had a noticeable effect or generated public attention, rather than merely stating that something happened.

Examples: El suceso causó conmoción en la ciudad. Los sucesos de la noche pasada quedaron registrados por las cámaras. En textos históricos, se habla de los sucesos de la década de 1930 para referirse a eventos relevantes de ese periodo.

See also: evento, hecho, incidente, ocurrencia. Note: suceso is typically not capitalized unless at the start of a sentence or in a title, and, as a common noun, it rarely functions as a proper name.