proceed

Etymology

From Middle English proceden, from Old French proceder, from Latin prōcēdō (“I go forth, go forward, advance”), from prō (“forth”) + cēdō (“I go”); see cede.

verb

1. (intransitive) To move, pass, or go forward or onward; to advance; to carry on
   to proceed on a journey
   Having completed their task, Fireman Page telephoned from a lineside box to the next signal cabin, briefly reported the incident and said that, as no high explosive had dropped and the track was safe, they proposed proceeding "at caution". 1944 July and August, “Top Link Drivers: XXI—Driver H. Blunt, L.N.E.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 226
   … and on the Saturday heavy seas pounded the W.R. on its exposed coastal stretch between Dawlish and Teignmouth, loosening the ballast and forcing trains to proceed with extreme caution. 1960 December, “Talking of Trains: The railways and the Devon floods”, in Trains Illustrated, page 709
2. (intransitive) To pass from one point, topic, or stage, to another.
   to proceed with a story or argument
   There the missionaries learned that they were to stay for a longer period, and they were lodged in a shed surrounded by rice fields. This was different from what they had expected, because they had been told in Canton that Father Ts’ai had arranged for a place in Hsiang-t’an. They therefore wished to proceed to Hsiang-t’an, but since that was impossible under the circumstances, they asked Liu Shêng-tuan to be their messenger to Father Liu asking him to come to them. 1948, Bernward H. Willeke, Imperial Government and Catholic Missions in China During the Years 1784-1785, St. Bonaventure, New York: Franciscan Institute, →OCLC, →OL, page 31
3. (intransitive) To come from; to have as its source or origin.
   Light proceeds from the sun.
4. (intransitive) To go on in an orderly or regulated manner; to begin and carry on a series of acts or measures; to act methodically
   He that proceeds upon others’ principles in his enquiry
5. (intransitive) To be transacted; to take place; to occur.
6. (intransitive, of a rule) To be applicable or effective; to be valid.
   [This rule] only proceeds and takes place, when a person cannot of common Right condemn or bind another by his Sentence.
7. (law, intransitive) To begin and carry on a legal process.
   “Gentlemen, shall we proceed?” the judge said. From the beginning, Judge Fong appeared bored at Levine's coaxing remarks. 2005, Rodney Stich, Disavow: Sage of Betrayal
8. (intransitive) To take an academic degree.