Etymologically
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exile

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 16:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɛɡˌzaɪl/, /ˈɛkˌsaɪl/[1]

Etymology

The noun is inherited from Middle English exil, borrowed from Old French exil (“banishment”) (earlier essil),[2][3][4] from Latin exilium (“banishment, place of exile”),[2][3] from exul (“a banished person”),[2][3] from ex (“away”) and a second element of disputed origin, perhaps related to ambulō (“to walk”) (see amble)[2][4] or, according to Watkins, to a root meaning to wander;[3] de Vaan considers several explanations possible.[3] The verb is from exilier, from Late Latin exiliō.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Enforced removal from one's native land: probably before 1300, in Arthour and Merlin, in Barnhart, before 1300 in the OED, about 1300 in Etymonline.[2][5][3]

Semantic evolution

A banished person is from about 1300 (about 1330 in the OED), from Latin exsul.[3][5] The verb, to banish, is from before 1325.[2] Prolonged absence from one's country, even if voluntary, is from 1393.[5] An obsolete sense, the waste or ruin of property, is from 1267.[5] The Old English gloss for the Latin noun was ūtlanda.[3] The Exile is another name for the Babylonian captivity of the Jews.[6]

Timeline

  • 1267 – waste of property (obsolete).[5]
  • before 1300 – banishment.[2][5]
  • before 1325 – to exile (verb).[2]
  • c. 1330 – a banished person.[5]
  • 1393 – voluntary expatriation.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Enforced or voluntary absence from one's home country; banishment.
  2. A person who lives away from their country, especially by force; an expatriate.

Verb

  1. To expel from one's home or country; to banish.

Word family

  • exilic
  • exilable
  • exiler
  • exilarch
  • government-in-exile
  • self-exile
  • unexiled
  • tax exile
  • amble
  • banish

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins