English
excess
Excess comes from Latin excessus ‘a going out, loss of self-possession’, and goes back to cēdō ‘withdraw’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcēdō‘withdraw’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexcēdōas excedere‘to go out, go beyond’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexcessus‘a going out, loss of self-possession’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400exces
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500exces‘excess, ecstasy’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596excess
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcēdō‘withdraw’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexcēdōas excedere‘to go out, go beyond’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexcessus‘a going out, loss of self-possession’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400exces
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500exces‘excess, ecstasy’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596excess
Earliest quotation: c. 1596, William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King Iohn: “To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, To…”
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *kezdō
succession, successor, successive, procession, inaccessible, recessive, precession, 10 more
through Latin cēdō ‘withdraw’
process, success, necessary, procedure, succeed, cease, accessible, precedent, predecessor, recession, concede, concession, accession, recess, secession, cessation, cede, intercession, 29 more
through Latin excēdō ‘to go out, go beyond’
Today it means
noun The state of surpassing or going beyond a limit; the state of being beyond sufficiency, necessity, or duty; more than what is usual or proper.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin cēdō / excess