exile (English)
Where does "exile" come from?
The English noun 'exile' traces its roots back to the Latin 'exsilium', which denoted the 'state of being banished'[1]. This Latin term was formed by adding the suffix '-ium' to 'exsul', referring to an 'exiled person'[2]. The word entered Middle English as 'exil' after being borrowed from the Old French 'essil' or 'exil'[1], a form that was likely semi-learned[3].
Open questions
- The ultimate origin of the Latin 'exsul' is disputed, with suggestions including a derivation from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to spring or to wander, or an association with the word 'solum'. [4]
Full etymology tree
- exile (English), 'The state of being banished from one's home or country.'
- borrowed exil (Middle English)
- borrowed exil (Old French)
- inherited exsilium (Latin), 'exile, banishment'
- derived exsul (Latin), 'A person who is exiled, exile, wanderer.'
- suffix -ium (Latin), 'Suffix used to form abstract nouns, sometimes denoting offices and groups. May no longer be productive.'
- inherited exsilium (Latin), 'exile, banishment'
- borrowed exil (Old French)
- borrowed exil (Middle English)
Ancestors
- essil (Old French)
- exsilium (Latin)
Descendants and derived words
- antiexile (English)
- exilarch (English)
- exilarchy (English)
- exiledom (English)
- exilehood (English)
- exile of conscience (English)
- exilian (English)
- exilic (English)
- government-in-exile (English)
- internal exile (English)
- postexile (English)
- self-exile (English)
Sources
- exile (English) - Wiktionary
- exsilium (Latin) - Wiktionary
- essil (Old French) - Wiktionary
- exsul (Latin) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris