"E" Word Origins

exhume

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin exhumare, from ex- ("out of") plus humus ("ground, earth") — literally "to bring out of the ground."

exigency

Origin

From Middle French exigence, from Late Latin exigentia (“urgency”) (from exigēns + -ia), from exigere (“to demand”).

exigent

Origin

From Latin exigēns, present active participle of exigō (“demand, require”). Doublet of exigeant.

exile

Latin

From Old French exil, from Latin exsilium, "banishment," related to exsul, "a banished person."

exist

Latin

From Latin exsistere, "to come into being, appear," from ex- ("out") plus sistere ("to stand, place").

existence

Latin

From Old French existence, ultimately from Latin existere, "to come into being" — built from ex- ("out") plus sistere ("to stand").

existent

Origin

From Latin existens, from existere. By surface analysis, exist + -ent.

existential

Late Latin

From Late Latin existentialis, built from existentia ("existence") plus the adjective ending "-al."

exit

Latin

From Latin exitus, "a way out" or "departure," from exire, "to go out" — ex- ("out") plus ire ("to go").

Exley

Old English

A habitational surname taken from a place in West Yorkshire, England, combining an old British word for "church" with the Old English word for "woodland clearing."

exnovation

Origin

From innovation, with the prefix in- replaced by ex-. Coined by Rein De Wilde in 2000.

Exodus

Greek

From Greek exodos, "a going out," from ex- ("out") plus hodos ("road, path") — also the title of the Old Testament book describing the Israelites' departure from Egypt.

exonerate

Latin

From Latin exonerare, "to unburden" or "unload," from ex- ("out, off") plus onus ("a burden").

exonerated

Middle English

From Middle English exonerated, equivalent to exonerate + -ed.

exoneration

Origin

From Latin exonerātiō. By surface analysis, exonerate + -ion.

exorable

Origin

From Latin exorabilis.

exorableness

Origin

From exorable + -ness.

exorbitant

Late Latin

From Late Latin exorbitans, "going off the track," from ex- ("out of") plus orbita ("wheel-track, orbit") — the same root as "orbit."

exorcise

Greek

From Greek exorkizein, "to bind by oath" or "banish a spirit," from ex- ("out") plus horkos ("oath").

exorciser

Origin

From exorcise + -er.

exorcism

Greek

From Greek exorkizein, "to banish a spirit by oath."

exorcist

Latin

From Latin exorcista, from Greek exorkistes, "one who binds by oath."

exord

Origin

From Latin exordium.

exordium

Origin

Borrowed from Latin exordium (“beginning, commencement”), from exōrdior (“to begin, commence”), from ex (“out of, from”) + ōrdior (“to begin”).

exoskeleton

Origin

From "exo-" ("outside") plus "skeleton."

exoteric

Origin

The adjective is a learned borrowing from Late Latin exōtericus + English -ic (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘of or pertaining to’). Exōtericus is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐξωτερῐκός (exōterĭkós, “exterior, external, outside”, adjective), from ἐξωτέρω (exōtérō, “more exterior”) (the comparative form of ἔξω (éxō, “external, outer”) (ultimately from ἐκ (ek, “beyond; outside”, preposition), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs (“out”)) + -τέρω (-térō) (an inflected form of -τερος (-teros, suffix forming comparative forms)) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, suffix forming adjectives). The noun is derived from the adjective.

exotic

Greek

From Greek exotikos, "foreign," literally "from outside," from exo- ("outside").

expand

Latin

From Latin expandere, "to spread out," from ex- ("out") plus pandere ("to spread"). A distant relative of the word "spawn."

expanse

Latin

From Latin expansum, "a spread-out thing," related to "expand."

expansion

Origin

Borrowed from French expansion, from Latin expānsiō. By surface analysis, expand + -sion.

expansionistic

Origin

From expansionist + -ic.

expansive

Latin

From Latin expans-, the past-participle stem of expandere ("to spread out"), plus the "-ive" ending.

expat

Origin

Clipping of expatriate.

expatiate

Origin

From the participle stem of Latin expatior, from ex- + spatior (“walk about”).

expatriate

Origin

The verb is first attested in 1787, the adjective and noun in 1812; borrowed from Medieval Latin expatriātus, perfect passive participle of expatriō (“to banish”) (see -ate (etymology 1,2 and 3)), from Latin ex- (“out of”) + patria (“native land”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix); possibly after French expatrier and expatrié.

expatriation

Origin

Borrowed from French expatriation, or from expatriate + -ion.

expect

Latin

From Latin exspectare, "to look out for, await," from ex- ("out") plus spectare ("to look at").

expectable

Origin

From expect + -able.

expectancy

Origin

From "expectant" plus "-cy," or from "expect" plus "-ancy."

expectant

Latin

From Old French expectant, from Latin expectans, "awaiting."

expectation

Latin

From Latin exspectatio, built on exspectare, "to expect."

expectorate

Origin

From Latin expectorātus, past participle of expectorō (“(only figurative) banish from the mind; (post-classical) expel from the breast)”), from ex (“out of”) + pectus (“the breast”).

expedience

Origin

From Middle English expedience, from Old French expedience, from Late Latin expedientia, from Latin expediens.

expedient

Latin

From Latin expediens, "advantageous," from expedire, "to make ready, be useful," from ex- ("out") plus pes ("foot") — the underlying image is of freeing the feet to move.

expedite

Latin

From Latin expeditus, "unimpeded, free," the past participle of expedire, "to free the feet" — from ex- ("out") plus pes ("foot").

expediter

Origin

From expedite + -er.

expedition

Latin

From Middle French expédition, from Latin expeditio, "a setting free of the feet" — the same root that gives us "expedite."

expeditionary

Origin

From expedition + the adjective ending -ary.