Etymograph

English

ex

Ex (a former partner) is a standalone use of the prefix ex- ‘former’.

  1. English1500–presentex-1‘former’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1984ex1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English ex
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1984, Waite, Prata & Martin: “Thus first C checks to see if ex and…”.

Lineage

  1. English1500–presentex-Wiktionary, English ex‘former’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1984exWiktionary, English ex. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1984, Waite, Prata & Martin: “Thus first C checks to see if ex and…”

Linked words

through Latin ex

exchange, squash, extort, extenuating, affray, enunciation, excommunicate, 11 more

Another origin of ex

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁eǵʰs‘out’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*eksreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEex‘out of, from’
  4. Englishtodayex

Today it means

noun The name of the Latin script letter X/x.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ex”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / English ex- / ex

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