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intercession

UK/ˌɪn.təɹˈsɛ.ʃən/US/ˌɪn.təɹˈsɛ.ʃən/
nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,706 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: intercessions

Intercession is pleading with somebody on another's behalf. Through his intercession, prayers of intercession, seek intercession.

It is mostly religious now — intercession is prayer offered for other people rather than for yourself — but the diplomatic sense survives. The Latin means to go between, which is exactly the position the pleader stands in. Note intercede beside it.

Definitions of intercession

  1. 1nounintercessionPleading with somebody on another's behalf.C1

    “Thanks to the bishop's intercession, the prisoner's life was spared.”

intercession is a pleading.

Where it comes from

Latin intercessio comes from intercedere, to go between — inter plus cedere, to go. Cede is the same verb.

  1. Latin

    intercessiō

  2. Old French

    intercession

  3. Middle French

    intercession

  4. English, today

    intercession

Built from

  • inter- · Latin — between
  • cēdō · Latin — to go

early 15th Century. From Middle French intercession, from Old French intercession, from Latin intercessiō, from intercēdō, from inter- (“between”) + cēdō (“to go”) (English cede), literally “go-between”.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Song of Ice and Fire

Practise this word

intercession in the wild

  • Memorare ("Remember, O Most Gracious Virgin Mary") is a Catholic prayer seeking the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

    Memorare

  • The intercession of saints is a Christian doctrine that maintains that saints can intercede for others.

    Intercession of saints

  • The 4th-century Apostles' Creed states belief in the communion of saints, which certain churches interpret as supporting the intercession of saints.

    Intercession of saints

  • A stronger version of this, which has not been officially defined by the church, is that all graces (ultimately or actually) flow through Mary's intercession.

    Mediatrix

  • Intercession of Christ is the Christian belief in the continued intercession of Jesus and his advocacy on behalf of humanity, even after he left the earth.

    Intercession of Christ

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the cēdō family

necessaryaccesssuccess

intercession — used about once every 27,725 pages · #13,706 · point at the bar for the others