exonerate · verb1
- Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₃énh₂os“burden, load”
- Latin · derived fromexonerātus
- Middle English · inherited fromexoneraten
- English todayexonerate
From Middle English exoneraten (attested in past participle exonerated), from Latin exonerātus, past perfect participle of exonerō (“to discharge, unload; to exonerate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Exonerō is from ex- (“out, from”) + onerō (“to burden, lade; to load”) further from onus (oner-) (“a burden, load”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃énh₂os (“burden, load”), from *h₃enh₂- (“to charge, onerate”). Compare French exonérer.
exonerate · adjective2
- Latin · learned borrowing fromexonerātus
- English todayexonerate
Learned borrowing from Latin exonerātus (more at etymology 1), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.