- succumb (v.)
- late 15c., from Middle French succomber, from Latin succumbere "submit, sink down, lie under," from sub "down" (see sub-) + -cumbere "take a reclining position," related to cubare "lie down" (see cubicle). Originally transitive; sense of "sink under pressure" is first recorded c.1600. Related: Succumbed; succumbing.