extol

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English extollen,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Latin extollō (“to place on high, raise; to exalt, praise”),^{[5][6][7][2][8]} formed from ex- (“up”) and tollō (“to lift, raise”),^[5][4][8][6] from Proto-Indo-European *tele- (“to bear, carry”),^[5][4][7] which also gave tolerō (“to bear, support”), the source of tolerate.^[7][9] Etymonline's cognates of the root include Old English þolian (“to endure”) and Lithuanian tiltas (“bridge”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To lift up or exalt someone or oneself: a Middle English version of the Pauline Epistles, in a manuscript from before 1425 of a text from before 1400, has "Extollyng hymself" at 2 Corinthians 10:5.^[2] Barnhart says before 1400,^[8] Etymonline about 1400,^[5] and the OED, whose entry is not fully revised, starts only from about 1504.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The literal "lift up" and the figurative "exalt, praise" were both already in the Latin verb,^[5][7] and both appear early in English.^[2] The sense "praise highly" is dated by the Middle English Dictionary to 1439, in the records of the Privy Council,^[2] by Barnhart probably to before 1425,^[8] by Etymonline to about 1500,^[5] and by the OED to 1509, in J. Fisher's Mornynge Remembraunce of the Countess of Richmond.^[6] The OED lists several other senses, all of them now dead: raising physically (1549–1650), raising in dignity or authority (1545–88), lifting up with pride or joy (1526–1664), and making too much of something, or exaggerating (about 1504–1796).^[6][10] Johnson (1755) gave only praise, with Milton's "both heav'n and earth shall high extol / Thy praises".^[11]

Timeline

• before 1400 – extollen, to lift up, to exalt.^[2][8]
• 1439 – to praise highly.^[2]
• c. 1504 – to make too much of, to exaggerate (obsolete by 1796).^[6]
• 1526 – to lift up with pride or joy (obsolete by 1664).^[6]
• 1545 – to raise in dignity or authority (obsolete by 1588).^[6]
• 1549 – to raise physically (obsolete by 1650).^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To praise highly or enthusiastically; to glorify: The brochure extolled the virtues of country life.^[12][3][6]
2. To lift up, to raise (obsolete, 1549–1650).^[6][3][10]
3. To raise in rank or dignity; to exalt (obsolete, 1545–88).^[6][10]
4. To make too much of; to exaggerate (obsolete, 1504–1796).^[6][10]

Word family

• extoller
• extolment
• extollingly
• unextolled

Related words

• tolerate
• elate
• talent

Usage notes

Extoll is an American variant spelling, less common than extol.^[12][3]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
5. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
9. ^ Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
10. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, 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. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins