Proceeding, n.
1. The act of one who proceeds, or who prosecutes a design or transaction; progress or movement from one thing to another; a measure or step taken in a course of business; a transaction; as, an illegal proceeding; a cautious or a violent proceeding. The proceedings of the high commission. Macaulay.
2. pl. (Law)
The course of procedure in the prosecution of an action at law. Blackstone. Proceedings of a society, the published record of its action, or of things done at its meetings.
Syn. -- Procedure; measure; step, See Transaction.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for proceeding; he lists it under act, transaction.
Where he writes about it:
A transaction is something completed; a proceeding is or is viewed as something in progress; but since transaction is often used to include the steps leading to the conclusion, while proceedings may result in action, the dividing line between the two words becomes sometimes quite faint, tho transaction often emphasizes the fact of something done, or brought to a conclusion. — from transaction