excrément (French)

Where does "excrément" come from?

The French noun 'excrément' was borrowed from the Latin 'excrēmentum'[1]. This Latin noun originates from 'excernō', meaning 'to separate' or 'to discharge', combined with the suffix '-mentum'[2]. The verb 'excernō' itself combines the prefix 'ex-', meaning 'out of' or 'from', with 'cernō', meaning 'to separate', 'sift', or 'discern'[3]. Going further back, 'cernō' derives from the Proto-Italic '*krinō', which traces back to the Proto-Indo-European '*krey-', meaning 'to sieve' or 'to separate'[4][5].

Open questions

• The Proto-Italic form is reconstructed as '*krinō'. [4]
• The ultimate Proto-Indo-European root is reconstructed as '*krey-'. [4] [5]

Full etymology tree

• excrément (French), 'excrement (animal solid waste)'
  • borrowed excrementum (Latin), 'refuse, rubbish'
    • derived excrernō (Latin)
      • prefix ex- (Latin), 'out, away'
      • derived cerno (Latin), 'to distinguish, divide, separate, sift'
        • inherited *krinō (Proto-Italic), 'to sift, separate'
          • derived *krey- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to sift, separate, divide'
    • suffix -mentum (Latin), 'instrument, medium, or result of'

Ancestors

• excrementum (Latin)

Sources

1. excrément (French) - Wiktionary
2. excrementum (Latin) - Wiktionary
3. excerno (Latin) - Wiktionary
4. cerno (Latin) - Wiktionary
5. krinō (Proto-Italic) - Wiktionary

Updated September 2026

More words starting with E

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris