1. Excelling; surpassing others in some good quality or the sum of qualities; of great worth; eminent, in a
good sense; superior; as, an excellent man, artist, citizen, husband, discourse, book, song, etc.; excellent
breeding, principles, aims, action.
To love . . .
What I see excellent in good or fair.
Milton. 2. Superior in kind or degree, irrespective of moral quality; — used with words of a bad significance.
[Obs. or Ironical] "An excellent hypocrite." Hume.
Their sorrows are most excellent.
Beau. & Fl. Syn. — Worthy; choice; prime; valuable; select; exquisite; transcendent; admirable; worthy.
Excellent
(Ex"cel*lent), adv. Excellently; eminently; exceedingly. [Obs.] "This comes off well and excellent."
Shak.
Excellently
(Ex"cel*lent*ly), adv.
1. In an excellent manner; well in a high degree.
2. In a high or superior degree; — in this literal use, not implying worthiness. [Obs.]
When the whole heart is excellently sorry.
J. Fletcher. Excelsior
(||Ex*cel"si*or), a. [L., compar. of excelsus elevated, lofty, p. p. of excellere. See Excel, v.
t.] More lofty; still higher; ever upward.
Excelsior
(Ex*cel"si*or), n. A kind of stuffing for upholstered furniture, mattresses, etc., in which curled
shreds of wood are substituted for curled hair.
Excentral
(Ex*cen"tral) a. [Pref. ex- + central.] (Bot.) Out of the center.
Excentric
(Ex*cen"tric Ex*cen"tric*al) a.
1. Same as Eccentric, Eccentrical.
2. (Bot.) One-sided; having the normally central portion not in the true center. Gray.
Excentricity
(Ex`cen*tric"i*ty) (Math.) Same as Eccentricity.
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.
