exact English · revision 4685

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1440|origins=la exigere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɪɡˈzækt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|exāctus]], the past participle of exigere “to drive out, force out; demand, require; complete, weigh, measure”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from ex- “out” and agere “to drive, lead, do”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*h₂eǵ-|alt=*ag-|t=to drive]].^(Etymonline) The verb (Middle English exacten) keeps the literal sense of the Latin, while the adjective comes from exāctus “highly finished, precise”, from exigere in the sense “to weigh accurately”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[exigent]], [[examine]] and [[agent]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The verb, to demand payment or tax: 1440 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) the mid-15th century in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) the first sense in English.^(Cresswell 2021) The adjective, precise or accurate, is from 1533, in Thomas More.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb is older in English than the adjective.^(Etymonline) To demand and obtain by force or authority, as in ''exact revenge'', is the main sense of the verb.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) The adjective first meant accurate in detail (1533) and, of laws or rules, strict (1538),^(OED 1989) also highly skilled or refined (1599), senses now obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021) Precise as opposed to approximate, of a calculated result or quantity, is from 1601, first recorded in Shakespeare.^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021) ''Exacting'', making great demands, is from 1583,^(Barnhart 1988) and ''exaction'' from about 1380.^(Barnhart 1988) In Scotland exact once meant expert.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1380 – ''exaction''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1440 – verb, to demand payment.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1533 – adjective, accurate.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1538 – strict.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1583 – ''exacting''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1601 – precise, not approximate.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Completely correct in every detail; [[precise]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Paying close attention to detail; careful and strict.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To demand and get something, especially by force or authority: ''exact revenge''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To call for or [[require]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[exactable]]

+ * [[exactness]]

+ * [[exacter]]

+ * [[exactly]]

+ * [[unexacted]]

+ * [[exacting]]

+ * [[exaction]]

+ * [[exact science]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[exigent]]

+ * [[examine]]

+ * [[agent]]

+ * [[act]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}