entry
excellence
/ˈɛksələns/The state of being exceptionally good or superior
From Latin ex (out of) + Latin cellere (to rise high).
from PIE root *kel- (2) "to be prominent; hill."
from Latin excellentia "superiority, excellence,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old French excellence
+1 more sourcefrom Old French excellence
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from PIE root *kel- (2) "to be prominent; hill."
from Latin excellentia "superiority, excellence,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old French excellence
+1 more sourcefrom Old French excellence
+1 more sourcePicture a Roman measuring people and achievements against a hill: whatever rose above the surrounding landscape was prominent, conspicuous, and hard to ignore. Latin combined ex, “out” or “beyond,” with cellere, “to rise high,” producing excellere—literally, something that towers beyond the ordinary. Its cousin celsus, “high” or “lofty,” survives in words such as excel and possibly gives us the visual feeling behind “excellence”: not merely good, but standing above the crowd. By the mid-14th century, Old French excellence had crossed into English, where it could name either superiority in general or the particular quality that made someone or something excel. So excellence is etymologically a hilltop word: tomorrow, remember that to call a performance excellent is to imagine it rising visibly above the plain.
The Story
Picture a Roman measuring people and achievements against a hill: whatever rose above the surrounding landscape was prominent, conspicuous, and hard to ignore. Latin combined ex, “out” or “beyond,” with cellere, “to rise high,” producing excellere—literally, something that towers beyond the ordinary. Its cousin celsus, “high” or “lofty,” survives in words such as excel and possibly gives us the visual feeling behind “excellence”: not merely good, but standing above the crowd. By the mid-14th century, Old French excellence had crossed into English, where it could name either superiority in general or the particular quality that made someone or something excel. So excellence is etymologically a hilltop word: tomorrow, remember that to call a performance excellent is to imagine it rising visibly above the plain.
Kin & Kindred
From 'ex'·out of, beyond
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'cellere'·to rise high, tower
Derived Terms
English words from this root