excurrent 
In higher forms of sponges . . . the chambers cease 
to open abruptly into the excurrent canals : each is pro- 
longed into a narrow canal, aphodus or abitus, which usu- 
ally directly, sometimes after uniting with one or more 
of its fellows, opens into an excurrent canal. 
Encyc. Brit., XXII. 414. 
excurse (eks-kers'), v. ; pret. and pp. excursed, 
ppr. excursing. [< L. excursus, pp. of excurrere, 
run out, run forth, etc. : see excur."] I. intraun. 
To make a digression or an excursion. [Bare.] 
But how I excurse ! Yet thou usedst to say thou likedst 
my excursions. Richardson, Clarissa Harlowe, iii. 71. 
When the Franklins and Sabines were excursing in 
Ireland, they went through some difficult pass. 
Caroline Fox, Journal, p. 81. 
II. trans. To pass or journey through. Sal- 
lam. [Rare.] 
excursion (eks-ker'shon), n. [= P. excursion 
= Sp. excursion = Pg. 'excursao = It. escursione, 
< L. excm-sio(n-), a running out, an inroad, in- 
vasion, a setting out, beginning of a speech, 
< excurrere, pp. excursus, run out: see excur.] 
1. The act of running out or forth; hence, de- 
viation from a fixed or usual course ; a passing 
or advancing beyond fixed or usual limits. 
The causes of those great excursions of the seasons into 
the extremes of cold and heat are very obscure. 
Arbuthnot, Effects of Air. 
But in low numbers short excursions tries. 
Pope, Essay on Criticism, 1. 738. 
2. Digression; deviation; a wandering from a 
subject or main design ; an excursus. 
No excursions upon words, good doctor ; to the question 
briefly. B. Jonson, Epiccene, v. 1. 
This excursion vpon this occasion, wherein 1 liaue found 
diuers Interpreters mute, will (I hope) find pardon with 
the Header, who happily himselfe may flnde some better 
resolution. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 134. 
I am not in a scribbling mood, and shall therefore make 
no excursions. Cowper. 
3. A journey; specifically, a short journey, 
jaunt, or trip to some point for a special pur- 
pose, with the intention of speedy return : as, 
a pleasure excursion; a scientific excursion. 
Making an excursion to S. Thecla from Sidonaia, we dined 
at Touaney, in a house appointed for the entertainment of 
strangers. Pococke, Description of the East, II. i. 132. 
4. A company traveling together for a special 
purpose ; a joint expedition, especially a holi- 
day expedition. 
An excursion numbering several hundreds, gathered 
along the river towns by the benevolent enterprise of 
railway officials, came up to the mountain one day. 
C. D. Warner, Their Pilgrimage, p. 65. 
5. In physics, a movement of a moving or vibrat- 
ing body from a mean position : as, the excur- 
sion of a planet from the ecliptic, of a satellite 
from the apparent position of its primary, or of 
the prong of a tuning-fork. 
That sleepy-looking kind of escapement in which the 
second-hand moves very slowly and the excursion of the 
pendulum beyond the impulse is very little. 
Sir E. Beckett, Clocks and Watches, p. 89. 
6. In maclt., the range of stroke of any moving 
part ; the travel : as, the excursion of a piston- 
rod. 7f. A projecting addition to a building. 
Davies. 
Sure I am that small excursion out of gentlemen's halls 
in Dorcetshire (respect it East or West) is commonly call- 
ed an orial. Putter, Ch. Hist., VI. 285. 
Circle of excursion, a circle in the heavens parallel to 
the ecliptic and so drawn that it is not traversed by any 
or by some one of the planets. = Syn. Trip, Travel, etc. 
See journey, n. 
excursion (eks-ker'shon), v. t. [< excursion, n."] 
To make an excursion. [Rare.] 
Yesterday I excursioned twenty miles : to-day I write 
a few letters. Lamb, To Wordsworth. 
excursional (eks-ker'shou-al), a. [< excursion 
+ -aZ.] Of or pertaining to or of the nature of 
an excursion. 
Pray let me divide the little excursional excesses of the 
journey among the gentlemen. 
Dickens, To Mrs. Cowden Clarke, Letters (1848), III. 98. 
excursioner (eks-ker'shon-er), n. An excur- 
sionist. [Bare.] 
The royal excursioners did not return till between six 
and seven o'clock. Mine. D'Arblay, Diary, III. 111. 
excursionist (eks-ker'shon-ist), n. [< excursion 
+ -is*.] One who makes an excursion ; specifi- 
cally, a member of a company making a jour- 
ney for pleasure. 
An excursion is always resented by the regular occu- 
pants of a summer resort, who look down upon the excur- 
sionists, while they condescend to be amused by them. 
C. D. Warner, Their Pilgrimage, p. 64. 
excursionize (eks-ker'shon-iz), v. i. ; pret. and 
pp. excursionized, ppr. excursionizing. [< excur- 
sion + -ize.~] To make an excursion ; take part 
in an excursion. Imp. Diet. 
excursive (eks-ker'siv), a. [< excurse + -ive.] 
1. Given to making excursions; rambling; 
2060 
wandering. Johnson. Hence 2. Veering from 
point to point; wandering off from a subject; 
deviating ; desultory ; erratic : as, an excursive 
fancy or imagination. 
He [William IV.] made another speech in French, in the 
course of which he travelled over every variety of topic 
that suggested itself to his excursii-e mind. 
Oremlle, Memoirs, Sept. 17, 1831. 
excursively (eks-ker'siv-li), adv. In an excur- 
sive manner. 
The flesh of animals which feed excursively is allowed 
to have a higher flavour than that of those who are cooped 
up. Bosuvll, Johnson. 
excursiveness (eks-ker'siv-nes), n. The qual- 
ity of being excursive ; a disposition to ramble 
or deviate. 
Remember that your excursiveness (allow me the word ; 
I had a rasher in my head) upon old maids and your lord 
can only please yourself. 
Richardson, Sir Charles Grandison, V. 313. 
Excursores (eks-ker-so'rez), n.pl. [NL., pi. of 
L. excursor, a runner, skirmisher, scout, < excur- 
rere, pp. excursus, run out : see excur.'] In Mac- 
gillivray's system of classification, an order of 
birds, the snatchers, comprising sundry birds 
which secure their prey as do the shrikes and 
flycatchers, which sally forth to snatch it and 
return to their post after such ah excursion. 
[Not in use.] 
excursus (eks-ker'sus), n. ; pi. excursus or excur- 
suses (-sus, -ez). [< L. excursus, a sally, inroad, 
excursion, digression, < excurrere, run out : see 
excur."] 1. A digression; an excursion. 
Catechising concerning articles of export and import, 
with an occasional excursus of more indirect utility. 
George Eliot, Mill on the Floss, I. 211. 
Returning, now, from the excursus upon the topic of 
command of language, let us pass to consider a fourth 
cause of the formation of a loose style. 
A. Phelps, Eng. Style, p. 107. 
2. A dissertation inserted in a work, as an 
edition of a classic, to elucidate some obscure 
or important point of the text. 
The principal point to be noticed in the excursuses is 
that a suggestion is made which carries the theory of a 
Judeo-Christian origin of the Teaching further than it has 
yet been pushed. Amer. Jour. Philol., VI. 103. 
excurvate, excurvated (eks-ker'vat, -va-ted), 
a. [< L. ex, out, + curvatus, curved, bent: see 
climate."] Everted; excurved. 
excurvature (eks-ker'va-tur), n. [< excurvate 
+ -ure, after curvature."] In entoni. : (a) The 
state of being excurved. (6) A part of a mar- 
gin, mark, etc., curved outwardly, or away from 
the center of the body or organ. 
excurved (eks-kervd'), a. [< L. ex, out, + E. 
curved.'] In zool., curved outward, or away 
from the disk or center of a part or an organ : as, 
an excurved margin; an excurved mark Ex- 
curved antennas, in entom. , antenna? constantly curved 
outward or away from each other. 
excusable (eks-ku'za-bl), a. [< ME. excusable, 
< OF. excusable, F. excusable = Pr. Sp. excusable 
= Pg. escusavel = It. scusabile, < L. excusabilis, 
excussabilis, < excusare, excussare, excuse : see 
excuse,"] 1. Deserving to be excused ; pardona- 
ble : as, the man is excusable. 
Nay, nay, Octavia, not only that 
That w.ere excusable, that, and thousands more 
Of semblable import but he hath wag'd 
New wars 'gainst Pompey. Shak., A. and C., iii. 4. 
A little timidity is excusable in a statesman placed in a 
prominent station. Whipple, Ess. and Rev., I. 194. 
2. Admitting of excuse or palliation : as, an ex- 
cusable delay. 
Before the Gospel impenitency was much more excusa- 
ble, because men were ignorant. Tillotson. 
Excusable homicide. See homicide^. = Syn. Pardona- 
ble, etc. See venial. Excusable, Justifiable. An action 
injurious to another is excusable when not entirely free 
from blame yet not ill-intentioned or culpably negligent ; 
justifiable, when so far provoked or necessitated as to be 
entirely free from blame. 
These sort of speeches, issuing from just and honest in- 
dignation, are sometimes excusable, sometimes commenda- 
ble. Barrow, Works, I. xvi. 
Clive was more than Omichund's match in Omichund's 
own arts. The man, he said, was a villain. Any artiflce 
which would defeat such knavery was justifiable. 
Macaulay, Lord Clive. 
excusableness (eks-ku'za-bl-nes), n. The state 
of being excusable; pardonableness ; the qual- 
ity of admitting of excuse. 
excusably (eks-ku'za-bli), adv. In an excusa- 
ble manner; so as to be pardoned; without 
blame. 
Why may not I excusably agree with St. Chrysostom ? 
Barrow, The Pope's Supremacy, p. 16. 
If even then we refuse it [restitution], unless the cause 
be that we excusably mistake the nature of the case, we 
preserve no ground for hope. Seeker, Works, I. xii. 
excuse 
excusationt (eks-ku-za'shon), n. [< ME. excu- 
sacion, < OF. excusation, F. cxcusation = Pr. ex- 
cuzatio = Sp. excusacion = Pg. cscusaqao = It. 
scusazione, < L. excusatio(n-), excussatio(n-), < 
excusare, excussare, excuse : see excuse, v.~\ Ex- 
cuse; apology. 
Kor oure mys-meuyng mou we make ; 
Helpe may none excusacioune. 
York Plays, p. 501. 
Ye shall not withstond nor disobaey the sonnies of the 
Master and Wardens for the tyme beyug, but there-to be 
obedyent at al tyniys, with owt resonabt-11 excusacion. 
English Gilds (E. E. T. 8.), p. 317. 
Prefaces, and passages, and excusationt, and other 
speeches of reference to the person, are great wastes of 
time. Bacon, Dispatch (ed. 1887). 
excusatort (eks'ku-za-tor), n. [= Sp. excusa- 
dor = Pg. escusador = It. scusatore, < LL. ex- 
cusator, excussator, < L. excusare, excussare, ex- 
cuse: see excuse, .] One who makes or is au- 
thorized to make an excuse or apology. 
This brought on the sending an excusator in the name 
of the king and kingdom, to show that the king was not 
bound to appear upon the citation. 
Bp. Burnet, Hist. Reformation. 
excusatory (eks-ku'za-to-ri), a. [= OF. excusa- 
toire,<. ML. excusatorius, < L. excusare, excussare, 
excuse: see excuse, v.] Making excuse; con- 
taining excuse or apology ; apologetical: as, an 
excusatory plea. 
Yet upon further advice, having sent an excusatory let- 
ter to the king, they withdrew themselves into divers parts 
beyond the seas. Lives of English Worthies. 
He made excusatory answers. 
Wood, Ann. Univ. Oxford, 1557. 
excuse (eks-kuz'), v. t.; pret. and pp. excused, 
ppr. excusing. [< ME. excusen, escitsen, < OF. 
excuser, escuser, F. excuser = Sp. excusar = Pg. 
escusar = It. scusare, < L. excusare, excussare, 
excuse, allege in excuse, lit. free from a charge, 
< ex, out, + causa, caussa, a charge : see cause. 
Cf. accuse."] 1. To offer an excuse or apology 
for : often reflexively. 
Sche of that sclaunder excused hire al-gate, 
& seide the child was in the see sunken ful gore. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 4045. 
Think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you ? 
2 Cor. xii. 19. 
He excused his conduct to others, and perhaps to him- 
self, by pleading that, as a commissioner, he might be able 
to prevent much evil. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vi. 
2. To furnish or serve as an excuse or apology 
for; serve as justification for; justify. 
Ignorance of the Law excuses no man. 
Selden, Table-Talk, p. 65. 
He alleges the uprightness of his intentions to excuse 
his possible failings. Hilton, Eikonoklastes, vi. 
The sinne or ignoraunce of the priestes shall not excuse 
the people. Spenser, State of Ireland. 
3. To pardon, as a fault; forgive entirely, or 
overlook as venial or not blameworthy. 
I must excuse 
What cannot be amended. Shak., Cor., iv. 7. 
4. To free or release from an obligation or 
duty ; release by favor. 
In the evening he sent me out of the Palace, desiring to 
be excused, that he could not entertain me all night. 
Dampier, Voyages, II. i. 99. 
I pray thee have me excused. Luke xiv. 19. 
5. To remit; refrain from exacting: as, to ex- 
cuse a fine. 6. To regard, permit, or receive 
with indulgence. 
Excuse some courtly strains. 
Pope, Imit. of Horace, II. i. 215. 
If ever despondency and asperity could be excused in 
any man, they might have been excused in Milton. 
Macaulay, Milton. 
7. To shield from blame. 
When he was at school he was whipped thrice a week 
for faults he took upon him to excuse others. 
Steele, Spectator, No. 82. 
= Syn, 2. To extenuate. 4. To exempt, release, let off. 
excuse (eks-kus'), n. [< F. excuse = Sp. excusa 
= Pg. escusa = It. scusa, an excuse ; from the 
verb.] 1. The act of excusing or apologizing, 
exculpating or justifying. 
Heaven put it in thy mind to take it hence, 
That thou might'st win the more thy father's love, 
Pleading so wisely in excuse of it. 
Shalt., 2 Hen. IV.. iv. 4. 
2. A plea offered or reason given in extenua- 
tion of a fault or a failure in duty ; an apology : 
as, the debtor makes excuses for delay of pay- 
ment. 
Xoo man then be absent wt-oute a resonable and sum- 
ciaunt excuse, vppon payne of euery Broder absente a li. of 
wax, to be paied to the Glide. 
En:ilish Gilds (E. E. T. S.), p. 188. 
They ever returning, and the planters so farre absent, 
who could contradict their excuta 
dipt. John Smith, True Travels, I. 145. 
