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exigo

Etymology and origin of the Latin word exigo

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (agō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈɛk.sɪ.ɡoː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈɛk.si.ɡo][1]

Forms

exigō (present infinitive exigere, perfect active exēgī, supine exāctum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from ex- “out” and agō “to drive”.[2][1][3][4] Inscriptions have ⟨exs-⟩.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, of driving out, spending time and exacting a debt.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to drive out, expel, as Cicero's rēgēs exāctī “the kings expelled”, in Terence to hiss a play off the stage or divorce a wife, and to remove, export.[2][6][7] In Virgil it meant to drive a weapon through, and to complete a task.[2] From Plautus it meant to spend time, aetās exācta “advanced age”, to undergo, and to exact payment of a debt or tribute.[2] In Cicero it meant to exact services, and in Livy a penalty.[2] From Ovid it meant to demand, require, to inquire into, and in Columella to examine, test, and in Varro and Livy to measure by a standard.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to demand.[8] It was borrowed into French exiger and Spanish exigir.[1] Its participle exāctus gave English exact in the 1530s, and its derivatives exāmen and exagium lie behind English examine and English essay.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of driving out and of exacting a debt.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of exacting services.[2][5]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of demanding and inquiring.[2][5]
  • 1530s – English exact is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To drive out, expel; to divorce.[2]
  2. To remove; to export.[2]
  3. To drive through (a weapon); to stretch out.[2]
  4. To complete; to make up (a sum).[2]
  5. To spend (time); to undergo.[2]
  6. To exact (payment, a penalty, a service).[2]
  7. To demand, require.[2]
  8. To inquire into; to examine; to ponder.[2]
  9. To make conform; to measure by a standard.[2]

Word family

  • exāctiō
  • exāctor
  • exactrix
  • exactus
  • exagium
  • exāmen
  • exigentia
  • exiguus
  • exīlis
  • superexigo

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 n o p q r s t 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 d 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. ^ 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
Cite this entry

“Exigo.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/exigo. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·