exert

Pronunciation

• UK: /ɪɡˈzɜːt/^[1]
• US: /ɪɡˈzɝt/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin exsertus, also exertus, the past participle of exserō (“to thrust out, put forth”),^[2][3][4][5] formed from ex- (“out”) and serō (“to join, bind, entwine”),^[2][3][6][7] from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to line up”).^[2][6] The OED thinks the Latin formation was probably shaped by contrast with inserō, the source of insert.^[5] Klein relates it to series and exsert.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Merriam-Webster dates the word to about 1630, in the sense of bringing strength or a force into play.^[4] The OED and Barnhart first record the verb in 1660, in the physical sense "to thrust forth, push out, emit",^[5][3][2] and the OED has an earlier participial adjective exert, thrust out, from 1647, in Henry More's Philosophicall Poems.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The physical sense of the Latin, pushing something out or giving off light or seed, lasted in English only from 1660 to the early 18th century,^[5] surviving in botany.^[9] Another early sense, to perform or practise an action, is recorded from 1662 to the late 18th century.^[5][9][10] From the 1680s the verb came to mean putting a power or quality into action, bringing it to bear,^[5][3][2] and Johnson (1755) defined it as using something with effort or vehemence.^[11] The reflexive to exert oneself, to make an effort, is recorded from 1736;^[5] Weekley explains it as developed from phrases such as to exert one's powers.^[12] From 1692 to the mid-19th century it could also mean to reveal something hidden.^[5][4]

Timeline

• c. 1630 – to bring strength or a force into play.^[4] The OED dates this sense to 1682.^[5]
• 1647 – exert, thrust out, as a participial adjective (obsolete).^[5]
• 1660 – to thrust forth, push out, emit (obsolete).^[5][3]
• 1662 – to perform, practise (obsolete).^[5]
• 1681 – to put into use, exercise.^[3]
• 1692 – to bring to light, reveal (obsolete).^[5]
• 1736 – to exert oneself, to make an effort.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To bring a force, influence or quality into play; to wield or apply it: The council exerted pressure on the landlords to repair the flats.^[13][4][5]
2. To put forth strength or effort: She exerted all her strength to lift the crate.^[4][13]
3. exert oneself: to make a strenuous effort; to strive.^[13][4][5]
4. (obsolete) To thrust forth or emit.^[4][5]
5. (obsolete) To show or reveal.^[4][5]

Word family

• exertive
• unexerted
• overexert

Related words

• exertion
• exsert
• insert
• series
• assert

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
13. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins