excursus

English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin excursus (“excursion”). Doublet of excurse.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɛkˈskɝsəs/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɛkˈskɜːsəs/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)səs

Noun

excursus (plural excursuses or excursus)

1. A fuller treatment (in a separate section) of a particular part of the text of a book, especially a classic.
2. A narrative digression, especially to discuss a particular issue.
   • 1979, Kyril Bonfiglioli, After You with the Pistol, Penguin, published 2001, page 204:

     Here is what us scholars call an excursus. If you are an honest man the following page or two can be of no possible interest to you.

   • 2007, Glen Bowersock, “Provocateur”, in London Review of Books, 29:4, p. 16:

     In his excursus on the Jewish people at the opening of the fifth book of his Histories [...], Tacitus was at a loss to uncover any deep cause for the war that broke out in 66.

   • 2022, Sabine Fiedler, Cyril Robert Brosch, “On the structure of this book” (chapter 6), in Esperanto – Lingua Franca and Language Community, John Benjamins Publishing Company, →DOI, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OL, page 27:

     Part III (Chapters 12 to 16) includes an excursus which leads us to the use of Esperanto outside the community of its speakers.

   • 2025 December 10, Massimo Introvigne, ““The Serpent’s Tale”: Kuṇḍalinī Without a Leash”, in Bitter Winter‎^[1]:

     The authors devote a fascinating excursus to the Western imagination’s preoccupation with serpents—from Eden to esoterica—and how this primed the ground for Kuṇḍalinī’s reception.

Related terms

• excursion

Latin

Etymology

Perfect passive participle of excurrō.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ɛkˈskʊr.sʊs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ekˈskur.sus]

Participle

excursus (feminine excursa, neuter excursum); first/second-declension participle

1. having been sent forth, hastened towards
2. having been projected, extended

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	excursus	excursa	excursum		excursī	excursae	excursa
genitive	excursī	excursae	excursī		excursōrum	excursārum	excursōrum
dative	excursō	excursae	excursō		excursīs
accusative	excursum	excursam	excursum		excursōs	excursās	excursa
ablative	excursō	excursā	excursō		excursīs
vocative	excurse	excursa	excursum		excursī	excursae	excursa

Descendants

• Italian: scorso
• Romanian: scurs
• Sicilian: scursu

Noun

excursus m (genitive excursūs); fourth declension

1. excursion
2. sally, sortie, raid

Declension

Fourth-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	excursus	excursūs
genitive	excursūs	excursuum
dative	excursuī	excursibus
accusative	excursum	excursūs
ablative	excursū	excursibus
vocative	excursus	excursūs

Derived terms

• excursiō

Descendants

• Italian: scorso
• → Catalan: excurs
• → English: excursus
• → Spanish: excurso

References

• “excursus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “excursus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "excursus", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “excursus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.