Succession, n.
Etymology: [L. successio: cf. F. succession. See Succeed.]
1. The act of succeeding, or following after; a following of things in order of time or place, or a series of things so following; sequence; as, a succession of good crops; a succession of disasters.
2. A series of persons or things according to some established rule of precedence; as, a succession of kings, or of bishops; a succession of events in chronology. He was in the succession to an earldom. Macaulay.
3. An order or series of descendants; lineage; race; descent. "A long succession must ensue." Milton.
4. The power or right of succeeding to the station or title of a father or other predecessor; the right to enter upon the office, rank, position, etc., held ny another; also, the entrance into the office, station, or rank of a predecessor; specifically, the succeeding, or right of succeeding, to a throne. You have the voice of the king himself for your succession in Denmark. Shak. The animosity of these factions did not really arise from the dispute about the succession. Macaulay.
2 more senses
5. The right to enter upon the possession of the property of an ancestor, or one near of kin, or one preceding in an established order.
6. The person succeeding to rank or office; a successor or heir. [R.] Milton. Apostolical succession. (Theol.) See under Apostolical. -- Succession duty, a tax imposed on every succession to property, according to its value and the relation of the person who succeeds to the previous owner. [Eng.] -- Succession of crops. (Agric.) See Rotation of crops, under Rotation.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for succession; he lists it under time.
Where he writes about it:
Sequence and succession apply to events viewed as following one another; time and duration denote something conceived of as enduring while events take place and acts are done. — from time
Duration and succession are more general words than time; we can speak of infinite or eternal duration or succession, but time is commonly contrasted with eternity. — from time