excuse

Where does the word "excuse" come from? It comes from Latin excusare, passing through Old French before entering English (1200s).

Excuse’s story begins in Latin: excusare meant “to free from blame.” 'ex-', out of, plus 'causa', accusation. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as escuser. The root of 'cause' is also in 'accuse'. It reached English by 1200s as excuse. 'excuse me' as a polite phrase is from the 1500s. Today, excuse means to forgive a fault.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient excusare "to free from blame", 'ex-', out of, plus 'causa', accusation.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval escuser "to excuse", the root of 'cause' is also in 'accuse'.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1200s excuse "to pardon", 'excuse me' as a polite phrase is from the 1500s.