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excerno

Etymology and origin of the Latin word excerno

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Vitruvius
Ultimate origin
Latin (cernō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ɛksˈkɛr.noː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [eksˈt͡ʃɛr.no][1]

Forms

excernō (present infinitive excernere, perfect active excrēvī, supine excrētum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from ex- “out” and cernō “to sift, separate”.[2][1][3] De Vaan traces ⟨cernō⟩ to Proto-Indo-European ⟨*kr-n-i-⟩ “to sift, separate”.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Vitruvius, of sifting.[2] Köbler dates Vitruvius c. 84–c. 25 BC.[5] Lewis & Short suggest it is not found before the Augustan period.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant to separate, sift out, as in Vitruvius and in Columella of bran from flour, and Livy used it for sorting people out.[2][6][7] In Celsus it meant to excrete.[2]

Its participle excrētus gave English excrete in the 1610s, and excrēmentum gave English excrement in the 1530s.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of sifting.[2][5]
  • 14–37 AD – Celsus uses it of excreting.[2][5]
  • 1530s – English excrement is recorded.[3]
  • 1610s – English excrete is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To sift out, separate.[2]
  2. To excrete.[2]

Word family

  • excrēmentum
  • excrēta
  • excrētus

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
Cite this entry

“Excerno.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/excerno. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·