[suc.ces.sion] n [ME, fr. MF or L; MF, fr. L succession-, successio, fr. succedere] (14c) 1 a: the order in which or the conditions under which one person after another succeeds to a property, dignity, title, or throne b: the right of a person or line to succeed c: the line having such a right
2. a: the act or process of following in order: sequence b (1): the act or process of one person's taking the place of another in the enjoyment of or liability for rights or duties or both (2): the act or process of a person's becoming beneficially entitled to a property or property interest of a deceased person c: the continuance of corporate personality d: unidirectional change in the composition of an ecosystem as the available competing organisms and esp. the plants respond to and modify the environment 3 a: a number of persons or things that follow each other in sequence b: a group, type, or series that succeeds or displaces another -- suc.ces.sion.al adj -- suc.ces.sion.al.ly adv