Etymologically
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exclusion

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Pronunciation

  • /ɪksˈkluːʒən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English exclusioun,[2][3][4] borrowed from Latin exclūsiō (“a shutting out”),[5][3][4][6][7][8] a noun of action from exclūsus, the past participle of exclūdō (“to shut out, keep out”),[3][6][8][7] from ex- (“out”) and claudō (“to close, shut”).[4][9] The Middle English Dictionary gives both Latin and Old French as its source,[2] and Barnhart allows a borrowing from Middle French exclusion beside the direct one from Latin.[9] It belongs with exclude and close.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Elimination or prevention, and in the phrase with exclusioun of, to the exclusion of: before 1402, in a quotation that prefers the parish church "wiþ exclusioun of oþer places".[2] Etymonline dates the word to about 1400[4] and Barnhart to before 1402;[9] the OED entry, not yet revised, begins in 1614.[5]

Semantic evolution

The word kept its general sense of shutting out or leaving out, and then from the 17th century formed several set uses.[5] The Exclusion Bill sought to bar James, Duke of York, from the succession because he was a Roman Catholic; the OED dates it to 1679, the Shorter Oxford to 1680.[5][8] The phrase to the exclusion of is recorded from 1691.[5] Sir Thomas Browne used it in 1646 for the laying of eggs or the bringing forth of young, and for the discharge of excrement, a use that died out by 1664.[5] Johnson (1755) defined it as the act of shutting out or denying admission, quoting Bacon.[10] Later senses are a pupil's expulsion or suspension from school (1818) and an item not covered by an insurance policy (1920).[5] Merriam-Webster records the specific sense of refusal of entry into a country by immigration authorities.[7]

Timeline

  • before 1402 – elimination, and the phrase with exclusioun of, to the exclusion of.[2][9]
  • 1614 – shutting out, debarring, omitting (first OED date).[5]
  • 1646 – the laying of eggs, bringing forth of young.[5]
  • 1679 – the Exclusion Bill.[5]
  • 1691 – to the exclusion of.[5]
  • 1818 – the expulsion or suspension of a pupil.[5]
  • 1920 – an item not covered by an insurance policy.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act of keeping someone or something out, or the state of being kept out: the exclusion of women from the club.[11][7][5]
  2. Refusal of entry into a country by the immigration authorities.[7]
  3. Something left out, especially a risk not covered by an insurance policy or contract.[5][8]
  4. The expulsion or suspension of a pupil from a school.[5]
  5. (logic) An exclusive disjunction.[7]
  6. to the exclusion of: so as to leave out: He studied chemistry to the exclusion of everything else.[5][8]

Word family

  • exclusionary
  • exclusionism
  • exclusionist
  • nonexclusion
  • self-exclusion
  • Pauli exclusion principle

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 The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  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 Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  11. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins