excise

See also excisé

English

WOTD – 19 August 2008    

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch excijs (under the influence of Latin excisus), accijs, from Old French acceis.

Alternative forms

• excize (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA: /ˈɛkˌsaɪz/, X-SAMPA: /"Ek%saIz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪz

Noun

Wikipedia excise (plural excises)

1. A tax charged on goods produced within the country (as opposed to customs duties, charged on goods from outside the country).
   • 1668 July 3rd, James Dalrymple, “Thomas Rue contra Andrew Houſtoun” in The Deciſions of the Lords of Council & Seſſion I (Edinburgh, 1683), page 547

     Andrew Houſtoun and Adam Muſhet, being Tackſmen of the Excize, did Imploy Thomas Rue to be their Collector, and gave him a Sallary of 30. pound Sterling for a year.

   • 1755, Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language, "excise",

     A hateful tax levied upon commodities, and adjudged not by the common judges of property, but wretches hired by those to whom Excise is paid.

   • 1787, Constitution of the United States of America, Article I, Section 8,

     The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts […] of the United States;

Translations

excise tax — see excise tax

Synonyms

• excise tax

Derived terms

• central excise
• excise house
• exciseman
• unexcised

Verb

excise (third-person singular simple present excises, present participle excising, simple past and past participle excised)

1. To impose an excise tax on something.

Etymology 2

From Latin excisus, past participle of excīdō (“cut out”), from ex (“out of, from”) + caedō (“cut”), via French exciser.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈɛkˌsaɪz/, /əkˈsaɪz/, X-SAMPA: /"Ek%saIz/, /@k"saIz/
• (US) IPA: /əkˈsaɪz/, X-SAMPA: /@k"saIz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

excise (third-person singular simple present excises, present participle excising, simple past and past participle excised)

1. To cut out; to remove.
   • 1846, William Youatt, The Dog,

     [T]hey [warts] may be lifted up with the forceps, and excised with a knife or scissors, and the wound touched with nitrate of silver.

   • 1901, Andrew Lang, Preface to the second edition of Myth, Ritual, and Religion,

     In revising the book I […] have excised certain passages which, as the book first appeared, were inconsistent with its main thesis.

   • 1987, Ann Rule, page 442 of Small Sacrifices,

     Insanity can be cured. Personality disorders are so inextricably entwined with the heart and mind and soul that it is well-nigh impossible to excise them.

2. (rare) To perform certain types of female circumcision.

Related terms

• excision

Translations

to cut out, to remove

• Bulgarian: изрязвам (bg) (izrjazvam)
• Czech: vyříznout (cs), (vy)preparovat (cs)
• Finnish: leikata (fi), poistaa (fi)

• Greek: εκτέμνω (ektemno)
• Russian: вырезать (ru) (vyrezatʹ)

---

French

Verb

excise

1. first-person singular present indicative of exciser
2. third-person singular present indicative of exciser
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of exciser
4. first-person singular present subjunctive of exciser
5. second-person singular imperative of exciser

---

Latin

Participle

excīse

1. vocative masculine singular of excīsus