Etymograph

English

excise

Excise comes from Middle Dutch excijs.

  1. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500excijs1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1668excise1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English excise
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1668, James Dalrymple, Thomas Rue contra Andrew Houſtoun: “Andrew Houſtoun and Adam Muſhet, being Tackſmen of the…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500excijsWiktionary, English excise
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1668exciseWiktionary, English excise. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1668, James Dalrymple, Thomas Rue contra Andrew Houſtoun: “Andrew Houſtoun and Adam Muſhet, being Tackſmen of the…”

Every English word from Middle Dutch excijs

Another origin of excise

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexcīdō‘cut out’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexcisus‘collapsed’past participle of excīdō
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presentexciser‘to excise’
  4. Englishtodayexcise

Today it means

noun A tax charged on goods produced within the country (as opposed to customs duties, charged on goods from outside the country).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “excise”. 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 / Middle Dutch excijs / excise

Shirt and support for this word