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ex⋅cept

1  [ik-sept]
Use except in a Sentence
–preposition
1. with the exclusion of; excluding; save; but: They were all there except me.
–conjunction
2. only; with the exception (usually fol. by that): parallel cases except that one is younger than the other.
3. otherwise than; but (fol. by an adv., phrase, or clause): well fortified except here.
4. Archaic. unless.
—Idiom
5. except for, if it were not for: She would travel more except for lack of money.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME: orig., ptp. adj. < L exceptus (ptp. of excipere to take out), equiv. to ex- ex- 1 + -ceptus (comb. form of captus, ptp. of capere to take)

Synonyms:
1. Except (more rarely excepting), but, save point out something excluded from a general statement. Except emphasizes the excluding: Take any number except 12. But merely states the exclusion: We ate all but one. Save is now mainly found in poetic use: nothing in sight save sky and sea.

ex⋅cept

2  [ik-sept]
–verb (used with object)
1. to exclude; leave out: present company excepted.
–verb (used without object)
2. to object (usually fol. by to or against): to except to a statement; to except against a witness.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME excepten < MF excepter < L exceptāre, deriv. of exceptus (see except 1 )

Related forms:
ex⋅cept⋅a⋅ble, adjective

Usage note:
See accept.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To except
ex·cept   (ĭk-sěpt')   
prep.  With the exclusion of; other than; but: everyone except me.
conj.  
  1. If it were not for the fact that; only. Often used with that: I would buy the suit, except that it costs too much.
  2. Otherwise than: They didn't open their mouths except to complain.
  3. Unless: "And ne'er throughout the year to church thou go'st/Except it be to pray against thy foes" (Shakespeare).
v.   ex·cept·ed, ex·cept·ing, ex·cepts

v.   tr.
To leave out; exclude: An admission fee is charged, but children are excepted.
v.   intr.
To object: Counsel excepted to the court's ruling.

[Middle English, from Latin exceptus, past participle of excipere, to exclude : ex-, ex- + capere, to take; see kap- in Indo-European roots.]
Usage Note: Except in the sense of "with the exclusion of" or "other than" is generally viewed as a preposition, not a conjunction. Therefore, a personal pronoun that follows except should be in the objective case: No one except me knew it. Everyone had a ticket except her.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Except

Ex*cept"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Excepted; p. pr. & vb. n. Excepting.] [L. exceptus, p. p. of excipere to take or draw out, to except; ex out + capere to take: cf. F. excepter. See Capable.]

1. To take or leave out (anything) from a number or a whole as not belonging to it; to exclude; to omit.

Who never touched The excepted tree. --Milton.

Wherein (if we only except the unfitness of the judge) all other things concurred. --Bp. Stillingfleet.

2. To object to; to protest against. [Obs.] --Shak.

Except

Ex*cept"\, v. i. To take exception; to object; -- usually followed by to, sometimes by against; as, to except to a witness or his testimony.

Except thou wilt except against my love. --Shak.

Except

Ex*cept"\, prep. [Originally past participle, or verb in the imperative mode.] With exclusion of; leaving or left out; excepting.

God and his Son except, Created thing naught valued he nor . . . shunned. --Milton.

Syn: Except, Excepting, But, Save, Besides.

Usage: Excepting, except, but, and save are exclusive. Except marks exclusion more pointedly. "I have finished all the letters except one," is more marked than "I have finished all the letters but one." Excepting is the same as except, but less used. Save is chiefly found in poetry. Besides (lit., by the side of) is in the nature of addition. "There is no one here except or but him," means, take him away and there is nobody present. "There is nobody here besides him," means, hi is present and by the side of, or in addition to, him is nobody. "Few ladies, except her Majesty, could have made themselves heard." In this example, besides should be used, not except.

Except

Ex*cept"\, conj. Unless; if it be not so that.

And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. --Gen. xxxii. 26.

But yesterday you never opened lip, Except, indeed, to drink. --Tennyson.

Note: As a conjunction unless has mostly taken the place of except.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : except
Spanish: excepto, salvo,
German: außer,
Japanese: ～の他は
More Translations »

except 
1377, from L. exceptus, pp. of excipere "take out," from ex- "out" + capere "to take" (see capable). Adjectival function led to use as a preposition, conjunction. To take exception is from excipere being used in Roman law as a modern attorney would say objection. Exceptional was formed 1846.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: ex·cept
Pronunciation: ik-'sept
Function: transitive verb
: to take or leave out (as from insurance coverage or a deed) : EXCLUDE excepted the air carriers and unions from the provisions —M. A. Kelly> intransitive verb : OBJECT; especially : to file a bill of exceptions or make a formal exception <excepted to the judge's order>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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