exact
Meaning
Completely correct in every detail; accurate and precise.
To demand and obtain something, especially a payment or action, from someone.
Structure
Usage
The witness gave an exact description of the suspect.
The contract exacts a heavy penalty for late delivery.
Scientists require exact measurements for the experiment to be valid.
Etymology
The word "exact" entered English in the late 15th century from the Latin past participle exactus, meaning "precise, accurate, complete," itself derived from the verb exigere ("to drive out, demand, measure"). The literal sense of exigere was "to drive out" (ex- "out" + agere "to drive"), which evolved metaphorically to mean "to demand" and then "to measure precisely." This semantic journey from the physical act of driving out to the abstract concepts of demanding and precise measurement explains the dual modern meanings: the adjective describes something that has been precisely "measured out," while the verb retains the sense of demanding something to be "driven out" or produced.
Analysis
- ex: A Latin prefix meaning "out, out of, thoroughly." - act: From Latin actus, the past participle stem of agere, meaning "to do, to drive, to lead."