exact

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪɡˈzækt/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin exāctus, the past participle of exigere “to drive out, force out; demand, require; complete, weigh, measure”,^[2][3][4] from ex- “out” and agere “to drive, lead, do”,^[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *ag- (“to drive”).^[2] The verb (Middle English exacten) keeps the literal sense of the Latin, while the adjective comes from exāctus “highly finished, precise”, from exigere in the sense “to weigh accurately”.^[2][3] It is related to exigent, examine and agent.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb, to demand payment or tax: 1440 in Barnhart,^[3] the mid-15th century in Etymonline,^[2] the first sense in English.^[5] The adjective, precise or accurate, is from 1533, in Thomas More.^[3][4][6]

Semantic evolution

The verb is older in English than the adjective.^[2] To demand and obtain by force or authority, as in exact revenge, is the main sense of the verb.^[7][8] The adjective first meant accurate in detail (1533) and, of laws or rules, strict (1538),^[6] also highly skilled or refined (1599), senses now obsolete.^[6][5] Precise as opposed to approximate, of a calculated result or quantity, is from 1601, first recorded in Shakespeare.^[6][5] Exacting, making great demands, is from 1583,^[3] and exaction from about 1380.^[3] In Scotland exact once meant expert.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1380 – exaction.^[3]
• 1440 – verb, to demand payment.^[3]
• 1533 – adjective, accurate.^[3][6]
• 1538 – strict.^[6]
• 1583 – exacting.^[3]
• 1601 – precise, not approximate.^[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Completely correct in every detail; precise.
2. Paying close attention to detail; careful and strict.

Verb

1. To demand and get something, especially by force or authority: exact revenge.
2. To call for or require.

Word family

• exactable
• exactness
• exacter
• exactly
• unexacted
• exacting
• exaction
• exact science

Related words

• exigent
• examine
• agent
• act

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)