Eximere

Eximere is a Latin verb meaning to take out, remove, or extract; it also carried the sense of exempting or sparing. The core usage is physical removal—from a container, location, or group—but the term also appears in figurative contexts, such as excluding something from a set or sparing someone from a duty or penalty. The prefix ex- conveys outward movement, and emere denotes taking or obtaining, together producing a sense of taking away or drawing out.

In classical Latin, eximere is a transitive verb that takes a direct object and can be used with various constructions to indicate from what or from whom the removal is effected. The concept could extend to exemption or avoidance in legal, administrative, or rhetorical passages, where a person or thing is withdrawn from a rule, obligation, or process. The related participial form exemptus (and the English descendant exempt) reflect the broader semantic range from removal to exemption.

Modern English usage of eximere is largely scholarly. It appears mainly in the study of Latin texts, glossaries, and translations, where translators render it as “to take out,” “to remove,” “to extract,” or “to exempt,” depending on context. Outside of academic or historical contexts, eximere is rarely used as an active verb in contemporary prose.

Etymology is straightforward: ex- meaning “out” + emere meaning “to take.” This formation yields a term that has influenced related English vocabulary, notably the word exempt through its Latin participial form. See also: exempt, Latin verbs with ex-, emere.