cease

Where does the word "cease" come from? It comes from Latin cessare, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).

Cease’s story begins in Latin: cessare meant “to delay, stop.” A frequentative of 'cedere', to yield. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as cesser. The same verb later gave 'cessation', a formal halt. It reached English by 1300s as cease. 'ceasefire' dates from the 1850s; 'incessant', never stopping, shares the root. Today, cease means to come or bring to an end.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient cessare "to delay, stop", a frequentative of 'cedere', to yield.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval cesser "to stop", the same verb later gave 'cessation', a formal halt.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1300s cease "to stop", 'ceasefire' dates from the 1850s; 'incessant', never stopping, shares the root.