Etymologically
Log in

exceed

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 15:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɪkˈsiːd/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English exceden, borrowed from Old French exceder (“to exceed, surpass”),[2][3][4][5] from Latin excēdō (“to depart, go beyond, surpass”), from ex- (“out”) and cēdō (“to go, yield”) (see cede),[2][3][4][6] from Proto-Indo-European *ked- (“to go, yield”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To pass beyond boundaries, to transcend: about 1374 in the OED, about 1380 in Chaucer's Boethius in Barnhart, the late 14th century in Etymonline.[7][2][3]

Semantic evolution

To be greater than is from about 1391,[7] and to surpass or outdo from about 1425.[7] To transgress a law (1393) and to go too far, break out (about 1470) are obsolete senses.[7] To exceed one's rights is from 1542, and to exaggerate from 1717.[7] Exceeding is from 1494 and exceedingly from 1535;[2] Etymonline notes that exceedingly means very greatly, while excessively means too much.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1374 – to pass beyond.[7]
  • c. 1391 – to be greater than.[7]
  • c. 1425 – to surpass.[7]
  • 1494 – exceeding.[2]
  • 1535 – exceedingly.[2]
  • 1717 – to exaggerate.[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To be greater than in size, amount or degree.
  2. To go beyond the limits of: to exceed a speed limit.
  3. To be superior to; to excel.

Word family

  • exceedable
  • exceeder
  • unexceeded
  • exceedance
  • exceeding
  • exceedingly

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press