exeunt
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Latin exeunt (“they leave”), the third-person plural present active indicative of exeō (“leave”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
exeunt (plural exeunts)
- A stage direction for more than one actor to leave the stage.
- 1909, Victor Emanuel Albright, The Shakesperian stage, page 124:
- undoubtedly the curtains closed at the exeunt of all the characters but one.
- 2002, Alan C. Dessen, Rescripting Shakespeare: the text, the director, and modern productions, page 223:
- In addition, several exits that have interpretative significance are changed by editors to exeunts and vice-versa.
- Coordinate term: (singular form) exeat
- An act of one or more actors leaving the stage.
- 1854, Anna Cora Ogden Mowatt Ritchie, Autobiography of an Actress; Or, Eight Years on the Stage, page 35:
- To supply the place of scenery, it was hung round with crimson curtains, through which we were to make our entrances and exeunts.
Translations[edit]
stage direction
|
act
|
Verb[edit]
exeunt (third-person singular simple present exeunts, present participle exeunting, simple past and past participle exeunted)
- (archaic) They leave the stage (a stage direction to two or more actors, the plural counterpart of exit).
- c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
- Get thee to bed, and rest; for thou hast need. [Exeunt Lady Capulet and Nurse.]
- 1589–1592 (date written), Ch[ristopher] Marl[owe], The Tragicall History of D. Faustus. […], London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Thomas Bushell, published 1604, →OCLC; republished as Hermann Breymann, editor, Doctor Faustus (Englische Sprach- und Literaturdenkmale des 16., 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts; 5; Marlowes Werke: Historisch-kritische Ausgabe […]; II), Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg: Verlag von Gebr[üder] Henninger, 1889, →OCLC:
- Enter two Devils.
Wagner. How now sir, will you serve me now?
Robin. Ay, good Wagner, take away the devils then.
Wagner. Spirits, away! [Exeunt Devils.] Now, sirrah, follow me.
- 1921, Montrose Jonas Moses, A Treasury of Plays for Children, page 504:
- Jane, Ursa, carrying Thomas, and Moss Bud start to exeunt.
- 1957, Henry Miller, Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch, page 249:
- On that dixit we exeunted.
- 1997, Richard Marcinko; John Weisman, Task Force Blue, page 311:
- That let the small problem of getting the van within proximity, running a few yards of cable, spiking the phone line, revving the engine and frying the phones, removing the cable, and exeunting, south
- 2003, Neal Stephenson, Quicksilver, page 142:
- The lasses picked up their skirts and exeunted.
Usage notes[edit]
The inflected forms of the verb (exeunted and exeunting) are extremely rare and often jocular. When used, the word is simply exeunt in most cases.
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
"they leave", usually in the context of theatre
Latin[edit]
Verb[edit]
exeunt