'succumb' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'succumbere', where 'sub-' meant 'under' and 'cumbere' meant 'to lie down'.

'succumbere' passed into Middle English (recorded forms such as 'succumben') and eventually became the modern English word 'succumb'.

Initially it meant 'to lie down under' or 'to submit', and over time it evolved into the current senses of 'to yield/submit' and, by extension, 'to die (from disease or injury)'.