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Origin and history of exceed

exceed(v.)

late 14c., exceden, "to go beyond," from Old French exceder (14c.) "exceed, surpass, go too far," from Latin excedere "depart, go beyond, be in excess, surpass," from ex "out" (see ex-) + cedere "to go, yield" (from PIE root *ked- "to go, yield"). Related: Exceeded; exceeding. Exceedingly (late 15c.) means "very greatly or very much;" excessively (mid-15c.) means "too greatly or too much."

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to exceed

cede(v.)

1630s, "to yield, give way," from French céder or directly from Latin cedere "to yield, give place; to give up some right or property," originally "to go from, proceed, leave" (from Proto-Italic *kesd-o- "to go away, avoid," from PIE root *ked- "to go, yield").

The original sense in English is now archaic; the transitive meaning "yield or formally surrender (something) to another" is from 1754. The sense evolution in Latin is via the notion of "go away, withdraw, give ground." Related: Ceded; ceding.

Latin cedere, with prefixes attached, is the source of a great many English words: accede, concede, exceed, precede, proceed, recede, secede, etc.

excessive(adj.)

"exceeding the usual or proper limit, degree, measure, or proportion; going beyond what is sanctioned by correct principles; immoderate; extravagant; unreasonable;" late 14c., from Old French excessif "excessive, oppressive," from Latin excess-, past-participle stem of excedere "to depart, go beyond" (see exceed). Related: Excessively; excessiveness.

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transcend
mid-14c., "escape inclusion in; lie beyond the scope of," from Old French transcendre "transcend, surpass," and directly from Latin transcendere "climb over or beyond, surmount, overstep," from trans "across, beyond" (see trans-) + scandere "to climb" (see scan (v.)). Meanings "b
pass
late 13c., passen (transitive), "to go by (something)," also "to cross over," from Old French passer "to pass" (11c.), from Vulgar Latin *passare "to step, walk, pass" (source also of Spanish pasar, Italian passare), from Latin passus "step, pace" (from PIE root *pete- "to spread
overdo
Old English oferdon "to do too much, be excessive or immoderate, exceed the proper limit," also in late Old English transitive...
preponderate
Meaning "to exceed in force or power" is from 1799. In 17c....
soubrette
from Provençal soubreto "affected, conceited," fem. of soubret "coy, reserved," from soubra "to set aside," originally "to exceed...
out-herod
"exceed in any excess of evil," from Shakespeare's it out-Herods Herod in Hamlet's instruction to the players in "Hamlet"...
outstrip
1570s, "to pass in running," originally in Lyly, perhaps from out- + Middle English strip "move quickly, make a stroke" (in reference to a weapon). c. 1400, a word of uncertain origin, perhaps from stripe (n.). Or outstrip might be a corruption of outstrike (15c.), from strike (v
crush
mid-14c., "smash, shatter, break into fragments or small particles; force down and bruise by heavy weight," also figuratively, "overpower, subdue," from Old French cruissir (Modern French écraser), variant of croissir "to gnash (teeth), crash, smash, break," which is perhaps from
excel
c. 1400, transitive, "to surpass, be superior to;" early 15c., intransitive, "be remarkable for superiority, surpass others," from Latin excellere "to rise, surpass, be superior, be eminent," from ex "out from" (see ex-) + -cellere "rise high, tower," related to celsus "high, lof

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