ex-
prefix/ɛks/ · /ɪks/
Etymology From Middle English, from words borrowed from Middle French; from Latin ex (“out of, from”), from Proto-Indo-European *eǵ-, *eǵs- (“out”), *eǵʰs. Cognate with Ancient Greek ἐξ (ex, “out of, from”), Transalpine Gaulish ex- (“out”), Old Irish ess- (“out”), Old Church Slavonic изъ (izŭ, “out”), Russian из (iz, “from, out of”). For sense 3 (“former”), compare sense 11 at Latin ex (indicates a change of state, (later) used before terms denoting an office to indicate that one has completed his term of office). It is probably a semantic extension from the sense of "out, away".
1
Morpheme out of
- borrowed from Latin: extract, expel, except, expression, exclusion
2
Morpheme outside
- ex-directory; borrowed from Latin: exterior
3
Morpheme former
- ex-husband, ex-president, ex-wife
- This parrot is no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and gone to see its maker. This is a late parrot. It's a stiff. Bereft of life, it rests in peace. If you hadn't nailed it to the perch it would be pushing up the daisies. It's run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-parrot.1969 December 7, “Full Frontal Nudity”, in Monty Python's Flying Circus, season 1, episode 8, spoken by Mr Praline (John Cleese), Dead Parrot sketch:
2 more examples
- While he may not deserve to be branded a “slimeball,” as Trump did on Sunday, Comey does risk coming across as a disgruntled ex-employee and someone seeking vengeance for his dismissal. He has a highly developed sense of his own morality and sometimes comes across as holier than thou.2018 April 16, Stephen Collinson, “Trump now faces Comey’s moral assault”, in CNN:
- A major event involves an ex-member of our build team. Due to a lack of legal protection on Mesabrook’s end, this member was able to make a legal request to have their builds and artwork removed from the Mesabrook project.2023 September 30, CSX8600, “September 2023 Update”, in Mesabrook Blog:
4
Biology, Natural sciences Morpheme Without, not possessing; lacking.
- excaudate, exstipulate
- Derived terms
53 terms
ex-directory, exsert, ex-actor, ex-atheist, ex-athlete, ex-Beatle, ex-boss, ex-CEO, ex-CFO, ex-Christian, ex-colleague, ex-consul, ex-councillor, ex-Czar, ex-dictator, ex-director, ex-doctor, ex-drummer, ex-emperor, ex-employee, ex-fighter, ex-fighter pilot, ex-friend, ex-governor, ex-guitarist, ex-Hindu, ex-Jesuit, ex-Jew, ex-Jewish, ex-judge, ex-Kaiser, ex-lover, ex-manager, ex-mayor, ex-member, ex-minister, ex-Muslim, ex-official, ex-organ grinder, ex-piano player, ex-pilot, ex-policeman, ex-police officer, ex-praetor, ex-priest, ex-programmer, ex-scientist, ex-Scientologist, ex-senator, ex-sergeant, ex-soldier, ex-statistician, ex-student