Etymologically
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ex

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Pronunciation

Forms

ex m or f by sense (invariable)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin ex (“out of, from”).[2][3][4] In Late Latin the preposition became a prefix in phrases whose second word was in the ablative: ex consule meant “out of the consulship”, that is, a former consul, and, from that came formations like expatricius (“a former patrician”).[2] DEI finds the phrase in Sidonius Apollinaris in the 5th century.[5] The prefix thus came to mean “who held this office and holds it no more”.[2]

Väänänen showed that this prefix lived on through the Middle Ages in the language of chanceries, never in popular speech, and came back to life in the 17th century, first in the Church, then in public affairs and journalism.[2] In this sense it spread in French in the 17th century (DEI cites ex laquais in Mézeray) and then at the time of the Revolution, as in French ex-prêtre and French ex-consul, and Devoto holds that it reached modern Italian through French.[2][5][6]

The Latin preposition goes back to Proto-Italic *eks and Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs (“out”), with cognates in Oscan eh-, Ancient Greek ἐξ (ex), Old Irish ess-, Lithuanian iš and Old Church Slavonic из (iz).[7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Bono Giamboni, before 1292, writes of “Publio Servilio exconsolo”, Publius Servilius the former consul, who attacked Cilicia and Pamphylia; the commentary on Dante known as the Ottimo (14th century) has exconsolo as well.[2][3][8][5]

Semantic evolution

The particle spread in Italian with the French Revolution: DELI's first modern record is from 1798, in Bartolomeo Benincasa.[2] Tommaseo, in 1869, observed that it was now used and abused, and with reason, since there were and would be many “ex”, but advised già or che fu in its place.[2][9]

Besides former office holders, ex came to be used of places that have lost their old function (a former barracks, a former convent) and of a former condition in general.[3][4][10] As a noun it is short for ex fidanzato, ex fidanzata, ex marito, ex moglie: a former partner.[1][3][11] In commerce it shows where a material comes from, and on the stock exchange it means “without”, as in ex cedola (ex coupon) and ex dividendo (ex dividend).[3][12] In law and administration it introduces the rule something is based on, as in ex articolo 25.[11] In modern medical language e(x)- also serves as a prefix.[2]

Timeline

  • 5th century – Sidonius Apollinaris uses Late Latin ex consule for a former consul.[5]
  • Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni writes exconsolo.[2][3]
  • 17th century – French takes up ex- for a former office.[2][5]
  • 1798 – Bartolomeo Benincasa uses the particle in Italian, at the time of the French Revolution.[2]
  • 1869 – Tommaseo comments on its frequent use.[9][2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (placed before a noun, invariable) former, who no longer holds a role or office or is no longer in a condition: È venuto anche l'ex sindaco del paese.[3][4][11][12]
  2. Of a place or building, that once had another use: Il museo è nell'ex mercato del pesce.[4][10]
  3. (commerce) Showing where a material comes from.[3][12]
  4. (finance) Without, as in ex cedola and ex dividendo, of a share quoted without its coupon or dividend.[3][12]
  5. (law, bureaucratic) Under, by virtue of (a provision): ex articolo 7.[11]

Noun

  1. (colloquial) A former partner, someone one has had a relationship with: Al matrimonio c'era anche il suo ex.[3][11][12][1]
  2. Someone who no longer holds an office or role.[10]

Usage notes

Ex is written separately or joined with a hyphen to the noun it modifies.[11][12] Latin phrases with the preposition are also used in Italian, such as ex aequo (on equal terms, 19th century) and ex abrupto (suddenly, 14th century).[5][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  4. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1573
  6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  8. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  9. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  10. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  11. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  12. ^ a b c d e f Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana