"to go in procession," 1814, "A colloquial or humorous back-formation" from procession [OED]. Accent on second syllable. The earlier verb was procession (1540s).

early 14c., proces, "fact of being carried on" (as in in process), from Old French proces "a journey; continuation, development; legal trial" (13c.) and directly from Latin processus "a going forward, advance, progress," from past-participle stem of procedere "go forward" (see proceed).

Meaning "course or method of action, continuous action or series of actions or events" is from mid-14c.; sense of "continuous and regular series of actions meant to accomplish some result" (the main modern sense) is from 1620s. Meaning "a projection from the main body of something," especially a natural appendage, is from 1570s. Legal sense of "course of action of a suit at law, the whole of the proceedings in any action at law" is attested from early 14c.; hence due process "fair treatment" at law, considered as a right (mid-15c.).

1590s, "pertaining to management of a household," perhaps shortened from economical, or else from French économique or directly from Latin oeconomicus "of domestic economy," from Greek oikonomikos "practiced in the management of a household or family" (also the name of a treatise by Xenophon on the duties of domestic life), hence, "frugal, thrifty," from oikonomia "household management" (see economy (n.)). Meaning "relating to the science of economics" is from 1835 and now is the main sense, economical retaining the older one of "characterized by thrift."

1530s, "begin legal action against, summon in a court of law," from French processer "to prosecute," from proces (see process (n.)). Meaning "prepare or treat by special process, subject to special process" is from 1881, from the noun in English. Of persons, "to register and examine," by 1935, in reference to the U.S. Army. Related: Processed; processing.

also socioeconomic, 1875; see socio- + economic.

also macro-economic, "pertaining to the economy as a whole," 1938, from macro- + economic.

1570s, "pertaining to household management;" from economic + -al (1). Sense of "pertaining to political economy" is from 1781, but that sense more commonly goes with economic, and the main modern sense of this spelling is "thrifty" (1780). Related: Economically.

"policy or process of making private as opposed to public," 1924, in reference to German economic policies in the crisis after World War I, from private (adj.) + -ization. Re-privatisation is attested by 1939.

Hugo Stinnes repeatedly demanded the privatization of the railroads, alleging that they could never function satisfactorily and profitably under bureaucratic administration. [United News article in Miami Herald, April 28, 1924]

"a decline," 1926 in an economic sense, from the prepositional phrase; see down (adv.) + turn (n.).

in the economic sense, as a form of outsourcing, attested by 1988, from off-shore.