excise
UK[ˈɛksaɪz]US[ˈɛksaɪz]
n
A tax charged on certain goods, especially those produced and sold within a country, such as alcohol, tobacco, and fuel.
v
To remove something completely, especially by cutting it out.
Morpheme Breakdown
ex
cise
ex
out
cise
to cut
Etymology
The word 'excise' has a dual history that converges on the concept of removal. The verb form, meaning "to cut out," entered English in the 16th century directly from Latin excisus, the past participle of excidere ("to cut out"), which is composed of ex- ("out") and caedere ("to cut"). The noun form, referring to a tax, arrived in the late 15th century from Middle Dutch excijs, which itself was likely derived from Old French acceis ("tax"), a term that evolved from Latin accensum ("to tax"). The semantic link between cutting and taxing is thought to be metaphorical; an excise tax is a portion "cut out" from the value of the goods or from the seller's profit. Thus, both modern meanings retain the core idea of extraction or removal, whether physical or financial.
Analysis
Structure: ex + cise
- ex: Latin origin, meaning "out".
- cise: Latin origin (from caedere, "to cut"), meaning "to cut".
Examples
The government increased the excise on cigarettes.
The surgeon had to excise the tumor to prevent it from spreading.
Several outdated paragraphs were excised from the final draft of the treaty.