*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of ex-

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs Proto-Italic *eks Latin ex Latin ex-der. Middle French ex-bor. Middle English ex- English ex- From Middle English, from words

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
prefix

out of · outside · former · Without, not possessing; lacking.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs Proto-Italic *eks Latin ex Latin ex-der. Middle French ex-bor. Middle English ex- English ex- From Middle English, from words borrowed from Middle French; from Latin ex (“out of, from”), from Proto-Indo-European *eǵ-, *eǵs- (“out”), *eǵʰs. Cognate with Ancient Greek ἐξ (ex, “out of, from”), Transalpine Gaulish ex- (“out”), Old Irish ess- (“out”), Old Church Slavonic изъ (izŭ, “out”), Russian из (iz, “from, out of”). For sense 3 (“former”), compare sense 11 at Latin ex (indicates a change of state, (later) used before terms denoting an office to indicate that one has completed his term of office). It is probably a semantic extension from the sense of "out, away".

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Derivation mentionexla
  • Derivation mention*eǵ-ine-pro
  • Cognate mentionἐξgrc
  • Cognate mentioness-sga
  • Cognate mentionизъcu
  • Cognate mentionизru
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:ex-<ety:bor<frm:ex-<ety:der<la:ex->>>>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ\nProto-Indo-European *-s\nProto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs\nProto-Italic *eks\nLatin ex\nLatin ex-der.\nMiddle French ex-bor.\nMiddle English ex-\nEnglish ex-\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"out\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₁éǵʰ\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"adverbial\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-s\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₁éǵʰs\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*eks\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"ex\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"ex-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle French\", \"term\" : \"ex-\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"frm\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"ex-\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"ex-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"ex-\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frm",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle French"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "ex",
        "4": "",
        "5": "out of, from"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin ex (“out of, from”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*eǵ-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *eǵ-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "ἐξ",
        "3": "",
        "4": "out of, from"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek ἐξ (ex, “out of, from”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "xtg",
        "2": "ex-",
        "3": "",
        "4": "out"
      },
      "expansion": "Transalpine Gaulish ex- (“out”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sga",
        "2": "ess-",
        "3": "",
        "4": "out"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Irish ess- (“out”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cu",
        "2": "изъ",
        "3": "",
        "4": "out"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Church Slavonic изъ (izŭ, “out”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ru",
        "2": "из",
        "3": "",
        "4": "from, out of"
      },
      "expansion": "Russian из (iz, “from, out of”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "senseno",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "former",
        "t": "former"
      },
      "expansion": "sense 3 (“former”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "ex",
        "pos": "indicates a change of state, (later) used before terms denoting an office to indicate that one has completed his term of office"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin ex (indicates a change of state, (later) used before terms denoting an office to indicate that one has completed his term of office)"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:ex-<ety:bor<frm:ex-<ety:der<la:ex->>>>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ\nProto-Indo-European *-s\nProto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs\nProto-Italic *eks\nLatin ex\nLatin ex-der.\nMiddle French ex-bor.\nMiddle English ex-\nEnglish ex-"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*h₁éǵʰ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁éǵʰ"
    ],
    [
      "*-s",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-s#Proto-Indo-European:_adverbial"
    ],
    [
      "*h₁éǵʰs",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁éǵʰs"
    ],
    [
      "*eks",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/eks"
    ],
    [
      "ex",
      "ex#Latin:_out"
    ],
    [
      "ex-",
      "ex-#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "ex-",
      "ex-#Middle_French"
    ],
    [
      "ex-",
      "ex-#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ex",
      "ex#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*eǵ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/eǵ-"
    ],
    [
      "*eǵs-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/eǵs-"
    ],
    [
      "*eǵʰs",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/eǵʰs"
    ],
    [
      "ἐξ",
      "ἐξ#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "ex-",
      "ex-#Gaulish"
    ],
    [
      "ess-",
      "ess-#Old_Irish"
    ],
    [
      "изъ",
      "изъ#Old_Church_Slavonic"
    ],
    [
      "из",
      "из#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "ex",
      "ex#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "prefix",
      "glosses": [
        "out of",
        "outside",
        "former",
        "Without, not possessing; lacking."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "0d74cd19ff64e65a1fb8519f680ca84f262c727153369d740a6375b13485d328",
      "rawRecordSha256": "4f59c50e08c3aa2e437ef3d3c2d89ddd86713d16144aad5d863c09b26385dfa1",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 187273
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for ex- →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-ZXgt