English
excitement
Excitement comes from Old French excitement.
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400excitement
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1835same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400excitement
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1835same form
Earliest quotation: 1835, Edgar Allan Poe: “By late accounts from Rotterdam, that city seems to…”
Formed from excite + -ment
Latin excieō ‘to call out, arouse, excite’
Latin excitō ‘to call out, call forth, arouse, wake up,…’
Old French exciter
Middle English exciten
English excite
Every English word from Old French excitement
Today it means
noun The state of being excited (emotionally aroused).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old French excitement / excitement