Nearby Words

excrete

[ik-skreet] Origin

ex·crete

[ik-skreet]
verb (used with object), -cret·ed, -cret·ing.
to separate and eliminate from an organic body; separate and expel from the blood or tissues, as waste or harmful matter.

Origin:
1610–20; < Latin excrētus (past participle of excernere to sift out, separate), equivalent to ex- ex-1 + crē- (perfect stem of cernere to sift) + -tus past participle suffix

ex·cret·er, noun
ex·cre·tive, adjective
un·ex·cret·ed, adjective
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Excrete is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.
Collins
World English Dictionary
excrete (ɪkˈskriːt)
 
vb
1.  to discharge (waste matter, such as urine, sweat, carbon dioxide, or faeces) from the body through the kidneys, skin, lungs, bowels, etc
2.  (of plants) to eliminate (waste matter, such as carbon dioxide and salts) through the leaves, roots, etc
 
[C17: from Latin excernere to separate, discharge, from cernere to sift]
 
ex'creter
 
n
 
ex'cretion
 
n
 
ex'cretive
 
adj
 
ex'cretory
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

excrete
1610s, from L. excret-, pp. stem of excernere (see excrement). Related: Excreted; excreting.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

excrete ex·crete (ĭk-skrēt')
v. ex·cret·ed, ex·cret·ing, ex·cretes
To eliminate waste material from the body.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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