Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “excess” come from?

Excess comes from Middle English exces, from Old French exces, from Latin excessus, the past participle of excedo meaning to go beyond or exceed.

excess (English): The state of surpassing or going beyond limits;...

Definitions

  1. The state of surpassing or going beyond limits;...

Ancestry of “excess”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishexcesexcess, ecstasy
2Old Frenchexces—
3Latinexcessusdeparture; demise, death; digression
4Latinexcederesecond-person singular future passive indicative...
5LatinexcedoI go out, go forth or away; depart, retire,...
6Latincēdō—
7Proto-Italickedōgive here!
8Proto-Italickehere
9Indo-European*ḱe—

Words derived from “excess”

  • nonexcess
Every word from Indo-European *ḱe →