ex

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | 700+ words | Copyright

ex L. ex out of, prep. and prefix (see EX-1, E-) = Gr. ex (see EX-2), OIr. ess-. In Eng. in certain L. phrs., as ex cathedra from the CHAIR (i.e. of authority) XIX; ex libris ‘out of the books’ (of somebody), from the LIBRARY (of) XIX; ex officio by virtue of one's OFFICE XVI; ex(-)parte with respect to a PART, (leg.) on one side only XVII; ex voto (short for ex voto suscepto from a vow undertaken) offering made in pursuance of a vow XVIII.

b. Prefixed to titles of rank after late L. usage in excōnsul, nom. evolved from ex cōnsule ‘from (being) consul’, (hence) lately consul; whence gen. with the sense ‘former’, as in ex-professor, and by further extension prefixed to adjs. (after ex-consular XVII) or to sbs. used attrib., as ex-service.

c. In commercial use, with ref. to goods, ‘out of’, ‘landed from’ (a ship); similarly ex-warehouse; ‘without’, ‘exclusive of’, as in ex-dividend.

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T. F. HOAD. "ex." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "ex." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-ex.html

T. F. HOAD. "ex." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-ex.html

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