Etymology

excuse

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Today it means: To forgive; to pardon; to overlook. Full definition →

Middle English excuse ← Old French excuse ← Latin excūsāre
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰ
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰs
  3. Proto-Italic*eks
  4. Latinex
  5. Latinex-
  6. Proto-Italic*kaussā
  7. Old Latincaussa
  8. Latincausa
  9. Latinexcūsāre
  10. Old Frenchescuser
  11. Middle Englishexcusen
  12. Latinexcūsāre
  13. Old Frenchexcuse
  14. Middle Englishexcuse
  15. English todayexcuse

From Middle English excusen (verb) and excuse (noun), borrowed from Old French escuser (verb) and excuse (noun), from Latin excūsō, excūsāre (“to excuse, allege in excuse, literally, free from a charge”), from ex (“out”) + causa (“a charge”); see cause, accuse and recuse. Displaced native Old English lād (“an excuse”) and lādian (“to excuse”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.