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excursio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word excursio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*krs-e/o-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin curro
French courir
French courant
Latin concurro
Latin transcurro
Latin cursus
English corsair
French cours
Latin discurro
Latin discursus
English discourse
French discours
Latin cursor
Latin excurro
Latin excursio
Latin succurro
Latin recurro
Latin recursus
Latin praecurro
Latin accurro
Latin accursus

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɛkˈskʊr.si.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ekˈskur.si.o][1]

Forms

excursiō f (genitive excursiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin excurrō (“to run out”) + -tiō.[2][1][3] excurrō is a compound of ex- and currō (“to run”),[4] which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *korse/o- (“to run”) and Proto-Indo-European *krs-e/o- (“to run”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero,[6] who in the De inventione speaks of men making a province unsafe with raids and robberies.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is a sortie or sally, a raid;[2] the TLL notes that it is found in Cicero, Caesar, the Bellum writings, Nepos and above all Livy, and only once or twice in later authors.[3] In rhetoric Cicero uses it of the orator's stepping forward, which should be moderate and rare,[2] and Quintilian of not overdoing gestures and steps.[7] It is also a journey or expedition, as when Pliny the Younger asks his correspondent whether frequent trips to look after his estate take him away.[2] Quintilian uses it of a digression in speech.[2] English excursion (1570s) first meant a deviation in argument and a military sally.[4]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, of raids and of an orator's stepping forward.[2][6]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it most often, of sallies.[3][6]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian, of a digression.[2][6]
  • 1570s – Borrowed into English as excursion.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A sortie, sally, raid.[2][7][1]
  2. (rhetoric) A stepping forward as a gesture.[2][7]
  3. A journey, expedition.[2][4]
  4. (rhetoric) A digression.[2]

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Excursio.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/excursio. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·