Etymologically
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excellency

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈɛk.sə.lən.si/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English excellencie,[2][3][4] borrowed from Latin excellentia (“superiority, excellence”),[5][6][3][7][8] from excellēns, the present participle of excellō (“to surpass”).[6][7] It is the Latin noun with the suffix -ency, beside excellence, which has -ence;[5][8] the Middle English excellence came through Old French.[2] Klein derived excellency from French excellence,[9] and Johnson gave both the French and the Latin word.[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

High rank or station: about 1225, as a gloss on an Old English word in a Worcester manuscript.[2] Etymonline likewise dates the sense "high rank" to about 1200, and the use as a title of honour to the early 14th century.[6] The OED's first record, from the Chester Plays (before 1400), has the sense "excellence".[5]

Semantic evolution

In the sense "excellence" the word is now obsolete or archaic;[5][8] the OED's last record is from 1783.[5] In the 16th and 17th centuries it had several more concrete uses: in phrases such as by excellency, by way of excellence (1574 to 1716), and for something that excels or ranks highest, as in the King James Bible of 1611.[5] From Shakespeare's Twelfth Night on, the plural excellencies named a person's or thing's excellent qualities,[5][11] and in 1693 Locke used the word for a high degree of skill.[5] Johnson (1755) gave the senses "the state of abounding in any good quality" and "dignity; high rank in existence".[10] The title of honour, usually your or his excellency, is first recorded in the OED in about 1533,[5] and the Oxford Dictionary of English dates this sense to the mid 16th century;[7] it is now given to ambassadors and governors, and in the United States to Roman Catholic archbishops and bishops.[8][12][3] Collins notes that the Roman Catholic title is used for bishops and archbishops in many countries where English is not spoken.[13]

Timeline

  • c. 1225 – high rank or station, in a Worcester gloss.[2]
  • early 14th century – a title of honour, according to Etymonline.[6]
  • before 1400 – excellence, superiority (now obsolete or archaic).[5]
  • c. 1533 – a title, your excellency.[5]
  • 1574 – by excellency, by way of excellence (obsolete by 1716).[5]
  • 1611 – something that excels, in the King James Bible (obsolete by 1667).[5]
  • before 1616 – an excellent quality, in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.[5]
  • 1693 – a high degree of skill, in Locke.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (usually Excellency) A title used in addressing or speaking of certain high officials such as ambassadors and governors, usually after Your, His or Her: His Excellency the ambassador will speak after dinner.[13][3][8][12]
  2. A title of Roman Catholic bishops and archbishops, in the United States and in many non-English-speaking countries.[13][8][3]
  3. An excellent quality or feature, usually in the plural.[3][11][5]
  4. (archaic) Excellence; the state of being excellent.[5][8][10]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  10. ^ a b c Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  11. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  12. ^ a b Garner, Bryan A., ed. (2004), Black's Law Dictionary, 8th ed., St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson West
  13. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins