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Definition of procession - 8 dictionary results

pro⋅ces⋅sion

  [pruh-sesh-uhn]
Use procession in a Sentence
–noun
1. the act of moving along or proceeding in orderly succession or in a formal and ceremonious manner, as a line of people, animals, vehicles, etc.
2. the line or body of persons or things moving along in such a manner.
3. Ecclesiastical. an office, litany, etc., said or sung in a religious procession.
4. Theology. the emanation of the Holy Spirit from the Father and later, in the Western Church, from the Son: distinguished from the “generation” of the Son and the “unbegottenness” of the Father.
5. the act of coming forth from a source.
–verb (used without object)
6. to go in procession.
Origin:
bef. 1150; early ME (< OF) < LL prōcessiōn- (s. of prōcessiō) a religious procession, lit., a marching on. See process, -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pro·ces·sion   (prə-sěsh'ən)   
n.  
  1. The act of moving along or forward; progression.
  2. Origination; emanation; rise.
    1. A group of persons, vehicles, or objects moving along in an orderly, formal manner.
    2. The movement of such a group.
  4. An orderly succession: the procession of the seasons.
intr.v.   pro·ces·sioned, pro·ces·sion·ing, pro·ces·sions
To form or go in a procession.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin prōcessiō, prōcessiōn-, from Latin, an advance, from prōcessus, past participle of prōcēdere, to advance; see proceed.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Procession

Pro*ces"sion\, n. [F., fr. L. processio. See Proceed.]

1. The act of proceeding, moving on, advancing, or issuing; regular, orderly, or ceremonious progress; continuous course. --Bp. Pearson.

That the procession of their life might be

More equable, majestic, pure, and free. --Trench.

2. That which is moving onward in an orderly, stately, or solemn manner; a train of persons advancing in order; a ceremonious train; a retinue; as, a procession of mourners; the Lord Mayor's procession.

Here comes the townsmen on procession. --Shak.

3. (Eccl.) An orderly and ceremonial progress of persons, either from the sacristy to the choir, or from the choir around the church, within or without. --Shipley.

4. pl. (Eccl.) An old term for litanies which were said in procession and not kneeling. --Shipley.

Procession of the Holy Ghost, a theological term applied to the relation of the Holy Spirit to the Father and the Son, the Eastern Church affirming that the Spirit proceeds from the Father only, and the Western Church that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. --Shipley.

Procession week, a name for Rogation week, when processions were made; Cross-week. --Shipley.

Procession

Pro*ces"sion\, v. t. (Law) To ascertain, mark, and establish the boundary lines of, as lands. [Local, U. S. (North Carolina and Tennessee).] "To procession the lands of such persons as desire it." --Burrill.

Procession

Pro*ces"sion\, v. i. To march in procession. [R.]

Procession

Pro*ces"sion\, v. i. To honor with a procession. [R.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : procession
Spanish: desfile; (religión) procesión,
German: die Prozession,
Japanese: 行列
More Translations »

procession 
1103, from O.Fr. procession (11c.), from L.L. processionem (nom. processio) "religious procession," in classical L. "a marching onward," from stem of processum, pp. of procedere (see proceed). Processional "book of hymns for use in processions," is first attested 1440. Verb process (accent on second syllable) "to march in procession" is an 1814 back-formation.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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procession

in Christianity, organized body of people advancing in formal or ceremonial manner as an element of Christian ritual or as a less official expression of popular piety. Public processions seem to have come into vogue soon after the recognition of Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire by Constantine in the 4th century.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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