excecation 
2052 
eXCecationt (ek-se-ka'shon), n. [Also spelled Atalanta, who was exceeding fleet, contended with Hip- 
excceca lion ; = OF.' excecation, < L. as if *exc<eca- P menes in tlle C ur8e - Bamn, Physical Fables, iv. 
tio(n-), < excwcare, make blind: see excecate.] exceedingly (ek-se'ding-li), adv. To a very 
The act of making blind. 
Their own wicked hearts will still work and improve 
their own induration, excecation, and irritation to further 
sinning. Bp. Richardson, Olis. on Old Test. (1655), p. 359. 
excedet, v. An obsolete spelling of exceed. 
excedentt (ek-se'dent), . [< L. exceden(t-)s, 
ppr. of. excedere, exceed: see exceed.] Excess. 
great degree ; in a degree beyond what is usual ; 
greatly ; very much ; extremely. 
Isaac trembled very exceedingly. Gen. xxvii. 33. 
We shall find that while they [kings] adhered firmly to 
God and Religion, the Nation prospered exceedingly, as for 
a long time under the Reigns of Solomon and Asa. 
Stilling Jleet, Sermons, II. iv. 
excelsior 
For God was . . . desirous that human nature should 
be perfected with moral, not intellectual excelU'tx-ir.-:. 
Jer. Taylor, Great Exemplar, Ded. 
Eloquence is ... improved by the perusal of the great 
masters, from whose excellencies rules have been after- 
wards formed. Goldsmith, Criticisms. 
The excellencies of the British Constitution had already 
exercised and exhausted the talents of the best thinkers 
and the most eloquent writers and speakers that the world 
ever saw. Burke, Appeal to Old Whigs. 
2. A title of honor given to governors, ambas- 
exceed (ek-sed'), t'. [Early mod. E. &\eoexcede; exceedingness in feare for 'Philociea. 
< ME. exceden, < OF. exceder, F. exceder = Sp. . Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, iii. 
Pg. exceder = It. eccedere, escedere, < L. excedere, excel (ek-sel'), v. ; pret. and pp. excelled, ppr. 
go out, go forth, go beyond a certain limit, over- excelling. [Formerly also excell ; < OF. exceller, 
pass, exceed, transgress, < ex, out, forth, + ce- F. exceller = Pg. exceller = It. eccellere, < L. ex- 
dere,go: see cede, and cf. accede, etc.] I. trans, cellere, raise, elevate, intr. rise, be eminent, 
1. To pass or go beyond; proceed beyond the surpass, excel, < ex, out, + "cellere, impel, pp. 
given or supposed limit, measure, or quantity celsus, raised, high, lofty.] I. trans. 1. Tosur- 
of : as, the task exceeds his strength; he has ex- 
ceeded his authority. 
Name the time ; but let it not 
Exceed three days. Shak., Othello, iii. 3. 
He has a temper malice cannot move 
To exceed the bounds of judgment. 
Fletcher (and another), Queen of Corinth, iii. 1. 
By the wisdom of the law of God David attained to ex- 
cel others in understanding; and Solomon likewise to 
excel David. Hooker, Eccles. Polity, ii. 1. 
I would ascribe to dead authors their just praises, in 
those things wherein they have excelled us. 
Dryden, Def. of Epil. to Conquest of Granada, Ii. 
Our great metropolis does far surpass 
Whate'er is now, and equals all that was ; 
a person entitled to this designation. The title 
H& Excellency is given to the governor by the constitu- 
tions of New Hampshire and Massachusetts; and it is con- 
pass in respect to something; be superior to; 
outdo in comparison; transcend, usually in 
something good or commendable, but some- 
times in that which is bad or indifferent. 
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excelle.it 
them all. Prov. xxxi. 29. 
Aged Men, whose Lives exceed the space 
Which seems the Round prescrib'd to mortal Race. 
Congreve, To the Memory of Lady Gethin. 
Nothing can exceed the vanity of our existence but the 
folly of our pursuits. Goldsmith, Good-natured Man, i. 
2. To surpass; be superior to ; excel. 
The forme and manner therof excedyd all other that 
ever I Saw, so much that I canne nott wryte it. 
Torkington, Diarie of Eng. Travell, p. 14. 
Divine contemplations exceed the pleasures of sense. 
Bacon, Moral Fables, vi., Expl. 
Where all his counsellors he doth exceed, 
As far in judgment as he doth in state. 
Sir J. Davies, Immortal, of Soul, i. 
To be nameless in worthy deeds exceeds an infamous his- 
tory. The Canaanitish woman lives more happily without 
a name than Herodias with one. Sir T. Brovme. 
=Syn. 2. To transcend, outdo, outvie, outstrip. 
Our wit as far does foreign wit excel, 
And, like a king, should in a palace dwell. 
Dryden, Prol. to King's House, 1. 25. 
2. To exceed or be beyond. [Bare.] 
She open'd, but to shut 
ExceU'd her power ; the gates wide open stood. 
Milton, P. L., ii. 883. 
II. intrans. To have certain qualities, or to 
perform certain actions, in an unusual degree ; 
be remarkable, distinguished, or eminent for 
II. in trans. 1 . To go too far ; pass the proper superiority in any respect ; surpass others. 
bounds; go over any given limit, number, or 
measure : as, to exceed m eating or drinking. 
Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed. 
Deut. xxv. 3. 
^Emulations, all men know, are incident among Military 
men, and are, if they exceed not, pardonable. 
Milton, Eikonoklastes, xxvi. 
Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength. 
Ps. ciii. 20. 
'Mongst all Flow'rs the Rose excels. 
Howell, Letters, I. v. 21. 
It was in description and meditation that Byron excelled. 
Atacaulay, Moore's Byron. 
The art in which the Egyptians most excel is architec- 
ture. E. W. Lane, Modern Egyptians, II. 2. 
3f. To excel. 
zia fobs.), eccettenza = D. excellent = G. excel- 
incumbents of other high offices. 
Your excellencies, having been the protectors of the au- 
thor of these Memoirs during the many years of his exile, 
are justly entitled to whatever acknowledgment can be 
made. Ludlow, Memoirs, I., Ep. Ded. 
"It was in the castle-yard of Kbnigsberg in 1861," said 
Bismarck, once, "that I first became an Excellency." 
Lorn, Bismarck, I. 270. 
excellent (ek'se-lent), a. [< ME. excellent, ex- 
celent, < OF. excellent, F. excellent = Sp. excelente 
= Pg. excellente = It. eccellente = D. G. Dan. Sw. 
excellent, < L. excellen(t-)s, high, lofty, eminent, 
distinguished, superior, excellent, ppr. of ex- 
cellere, rise, be eminent: see excel.] 1. Excel- 
ling ; possessing excellence ; eminent or distin- 
guished for superior merit of any kind ; of sur- 
passing character or quality; uncommonly laud- 
able or valuable for any reason ; characterized 
by good or sensible qualities ; remarkably good : 
as, an excellent magistrate; an excellent farm, 
horse, or fruit; an excellent workman. 
Her voice was ever soft, 
Gentle, and low : an excellent thing in woman. 
Shak., Lear, v. 3. 
A private Man, vilified and thought to have but little 
in him, but come to the Crown, never any Man shewed 
more excellent Abilities. Baker, Chronicles, p. 44. 
The World cries you up to be an excellent Divine and 
Philosopher. Howell, Letters, ii. 41. 
She is excellent to be at a play with, or upon a visit. 
Lamb, Mackery End. 
2f. Surpassing; transcendent; consummate; 
complete : in an ill sense. 
This is the excellent foppery of the world ! that, when 
we are sick in fortune ... we make guilty of our disas- 
ters the sun, the moon, and stars. Shak., Lear, i. 2. 
That excellent grand tyrant of the earth 
Thy womb let loose, to chase us to our graves. 
Shak., Rich. III., iv. 4. 
Elizabeth was an excellent hypocrite. Hume. 
= Syn. 1. Worthy, fine, admirable, choice, prime, valuable, 
select, exquisite. 
T. J-\J CAUO1. I -p. i. f, 1f . -_ ocitvi/, CAijuiaiLC. 
May. I saw the duchess of Milan's gown, that they '^^^^S^^^^^A^^ &^^***&1**- t< Client, a.] 
praise so. 
Hero. O, that exceeds, they say. Shak., Much Ado, iii. 4. 
These hils many of them are planted, and yeeld no 
lesse plentie and varietie of fruit then the river exceedeth 
with abundance of fish. 
Capt. John Smith, True Travels, I. 118. 
exceedablet (ek-se'da-bl), a. [< exceed + -able.'] 
Capable of exceeding or surpassing. Sherwood. 
exceeder (ek-se'der), n. One who exceeds or 
passes the proper bounds or limits of anything. 
That abuse doth not evacuate the commission : not in 
the exceeders and transgressors, much lesse in them that 
exceed not. Bp. Mountagu, Appeal to Ceesar, xxxvi. 
exceeding! (ek-se'ding), n. [Verbal n. of ex- 
ceed, t).] The amount by which anything ex- 
ceeds a recognized limit; excess; overplus. 
He used to treat strangers at his table with good chear, 
and seemingly kept pace with them in eating morsell for 
morsell, whilst he had a secret contrivance wherein he 
conveyed his exceedinys above his monasticall pittance. 
Fuller, Worthies, Yorkshire. 
exceeding (ek-se'ding), p. a. [Ppr. of exceed, 
.] 1 . Very great in extent, quantity, or dura- 
tion ; remarkably large or extensive. 
Cities were built an exceeding space of time before the 
Raleigh, Hist. World. 
Their learning is not so exceeding as the first Chinian 
relations report, iu the Mathematikes and other liberall 
sciences. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 439. 
2. Surpassing; remarkable for beauty, etc. 
[Rare.] 
How long shall I live ere I be so happy 
To have a wife of this exceeding form ? 
B. Jonson, Every Man out of his Humour, ii. 2. 
exceeding (ek-se'ding), adv. [< exceeding, a.] 
cellentia, superiority, excellence, < excellen(t-)s, 
excellent : see excellent."] 1 . The state of ex- 
celling in anything or of possessing good qual- 
ities in an unusual or eminent degree ; merit ; 
goodness; virtue; superiority; eminence. 
Consider first, that great 
Or bright infers not excellence. 
Excellently; exeee'dingly. 
Pol. Do you know me, my lord? 
Ham. Excellent, excellent well ; you're a fishmonger. 
Shak., Hamlet, ii. 2. 
Gentlemen, please you change a few crowns for a very ex- 
cellent good blade here ? I am a poor gentleman, a soldier. 
B. Jonson, Every Man in his Humour, ii. 2. 
Every beautiful person shines out in all the excellence 
with which nature has adorned her. Steele, Taller, No. 151. 
It is true now as ever, indeed it is even more true that 
labor must be rewarded in proportion to its excellence, or 
there will else be no excellence to reward. 
W. H. Mallock, Social Equality, p. 182. 
The Greek conception of excellence was the full and per- 
fect development of humanity in all its organs and func- 
tions, and without any tinge of asceticism. 
Lecky, Europ. Morals, II. 308. 
2. A mark or trait of superiority; a valuable 
quality; anything highly laudable, meritori- 
ous, or virtuous in persons, or valuable and 
esteemed in things ; a merit. 
Memmius, him whom thou profusely kind 
Adorn'st with every excelle; 
. 
Miltm, p. L., viii. 91. excellently (ek'se-lent-li), adv. 1. In an ex- 
cellent manner; in an eminent degree; in a 
manner to please or command esteem, or to be 
useful. 
3. Same as excellency, 2. 
They humbly sue unto your excellence, 
To have a godly peace concluded of. 
Shak., 1 Hen. VI., v. 1. 
Nor shall you need excuse, since you're to render 
Account to that fair excellence, the princess. 
Ford, Broken Heart, iv. 2. 
excellency (ek'se-len-si), n. ; pi. excellencies 
(-siz). [As excellence : see -ence.] 1. Same as 
excellence, 1 and 2. [Obsolete or archaic ; but 
KT^gVeat dSi ku^ t >? L=!?r * * **" 
ing rich. [Obsolete or archaic.] 
The Genoese were exceeding powerful by sea. Raleigh. 
I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. 
Gen. xv. 1. 
as the plural of excellence.] 
guish in men the sense of their own excellency as to make 
them willing that their souls should be like to the souls of 
beasts? Hooker, Eccles. Polity. 
e, if God did all. Shak., T. N.,i. 6. 
2f. Exceedingly; superlatively; surpassingly. 
Sir Philip Sidney in the description of his mistresse ex- 
cellently well handled this figure of resemblaunce by im- 
agerie. Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 204. 
Hesperus entreats thy light, 
Goddess, excellently bright. 
B. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, v. 3. 
A sorrow shews in his true glory, 
When the whole heart is excellently sorry. 
Fletcher, Pilgrim, i. 2. 
Here, as e'en in hell, there must be still 
One giant-vice, so excellently ill 
That all beside one pities, not abhors. 
Pope, Satires of Donne, ii. 4. 
excelsior (ek-sel'si-6r), a. [< L. excelsior, masc. 
and fern, compar. (neut. excelsius) of excelsus, 
elevated, lofty, high, pp. of excellere, rise, be 
lofty, be eminent: see excel.'} Loftier; more 
elevated; higher: the motto of New York 
State, hence sometimes called the Excelsior 
State. 
From the sky, serene and far, 
A voice fell, like a falling star, 
Excelsior ! Longfellow, Excelsior. 
excelsior (ek-sel 'si-6r), n. [< excelsior, a.] 
The trade-name of a fine quality of wood-shav- 
ings, used as stuffing for cushions, beds, etc., 
and as a packing material. 
