cess

cess · noun, verb¹

1. Latin · derived fromcensus
2. Irish · derived fromcís“tax, tribute, cess, rent”
3. English todaycess

For the first meaning below, the writings of Edmund Spenser, published 1633, point to a borrowing from Irish cís (“tax, tribute, cess, rent”), likely from Latin census. Other senses: Uncertain. Occurs in print at least as early as 1831, when Samuel Lover used the expression as one already long-established. He unambiguously stated the derivation of cess in the malediction bad cess to be an abbreviation of success. The OED speculated that it either was from success or from assessment meaning a military or governmental exaction. The verb is attested in Middle English (cessen).

cess · noun²

Possibly from an archaic dialect word meaning “bog”. According to the OED, from earlier suspiral (“water pipe, setting tank”).

cess · verb³

1. Middle French · derived fromcesser
2. English todaycess

From Middle French cesser. See cease.

Words from the same roots