excellence

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɛksələns/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English, borrowed from Old French excellence, itself from Latin excellentia, superiority,^[2][3][4] from excellēns, excellentem, distinguished, superior, present participle of excellere, to surpass, rise above (see excel),^[2][5] from ex-, out, and -cellere, to rise high, related to celsus, high,^[2] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *kel- (“to be prominent”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The state of excelling; superiority, greatness: 1382 in the OED, the mid-14th century in Etymonline.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

An excellent action or favour (about 1385, obsolete) and the quality in which someone excels (about 1391) followed soon after.^[6] The word was used of an excellent person (1447) and as a title of honour (about 1590), senses now taken by excellency.^[6]

Timeline

• 1382 – superiority.^[6]
• c. 1391 – an excellent quality.^[6]
• 1447 – an excellent person.^[6]
• c. 1590 – a title of honour.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The state or quality of excelling; superiority.
2. Something in which a person or thing excels.
3. Excellency, as a title.

Word family

• superexcellence

Related words

• excel
• excellent
• excellency

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon 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