excuse (French)
Where does "excuse" come from?
The French noun 'excuse' is a deverbal form, meaning it was created directly from the verb 'excuser'. This verbal root traces back to the Latin 'excusare', which literally translates to 'freeing from a charge' or 'removing a cause'. Over time, the word evolved from a formal legal defense into the everyday term used to justify a mistake or seek forgiveness.
Full etymology tree
- excuse (French), 'excuse'
- deverbal from excuser (French), 'to excuse (to forgive, to pardon)'
- inherited from excuser (Middle French), 'to excuse; to pardon'
- inherited from escuser (Old French), 'to excuse oneself'
- borrowed from excusare (Latin), 'inflection of excūsō:'
- prefix ex- (Latin), 'out, away'
- from root causa (Latin), 'cause, reason'
- borrowed from excusare (Latin), 'inflection of excūsō:'
- inherited from escuser (Old French), 'to excuse oneself'
- inherited from excuser (Middle French), 'to excuse; to pardon'
- deverbal from excuser (French), 'to excuse (to forgive, to pardon)'
Updated March 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris