Etymologically
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exceptio

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 14:48. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ɛksˈkɛp.ti.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [eksˈt͡ʃɛp.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

exceptiō f (genitive exceptiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from excipiō “to take out, except” with the suffix -tiō.[2][1][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from the Rhetorica ad Herennium, of a defendant's plea.[2] Köbler's first source is Cicero; he dates the Rhetorica 86/82 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant an exception, restriction, reservation, as Cicero's sine ūllā exceptiōne, and a limiting clause in a law or agreement, a usage Lewis and Short call very frequent in Cicero.[2][6][7] From the Rhetorica ad Herennium it meant in law a defendant's plea inserted by the praetor in the formula, an exception.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant an exception.[8] British Medieval Latin also used it for the reception of a person.[9] It survives in Italian eccezione and French exception, and Anglo-French excepcioun gave English exception in the late 14th century.[1][4]

Timeline

  • 86/82 BC – The Rhetorica ad Herennium uses it of a plea.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses sine ūllā exceptiōne.[7][5]
  • late 14th century – English exception is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An exception, reservation.[2]
  2. A limiting clause, proviso.[2]
  3. (law) A defendant's plea.[2]

Word family

  • exceptiuncula

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  9. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press