ex-
prefix 1. out of; outside of; from: exclosure; exurbia.
2. former: ex-wife.
[from Latin, from ex (prep), identical in meaning and origin with Greek ex, ek; see ec-]
ex-
combining form a variant of
exo-:
exergonic.
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ex1
(ɛks)
prep. 1. without; not including: ex dividend.
2. free of charges to the purchaser until removed from a specified place: ex warehouse.
[1835–45; < Latin. See
ex-
1]
ex2
(ɛks)
n. the letter X, x.
ex3
(ɛks)
n. Informal. a former spouse; ex-wife or ex-husband.
[1820–30; by shortening]
ex-1
, 1. a prefix occurring orig. in loanwords from Latin, meaning “out, out of, away, forth” (
egregious; exclude; exhale; exit; export; extract), used also to signify that the action of a base verb has been carried to a conclusive point (
effect; effete; erase; exaggerate; excite; exhaust), esp. in causative formations (
evacuate; effeminate; exhilarate; expurgate) or privative formations, including adjectives (
emasculate; enervate; exonerate; exsanguine). Also,
before consonants other than c, f, p, q, s,
and t
in Latin words, e-, ef-. 2. a prefix meaning “former,” “formerly having been”: ex-member; ex-wife.
[< Latin, prefixal use of ex, ē (preposition) out (of), from, beyond; (definition 2) < Late Latin, as in exconsul, based on Latin ex in the sense “from being, having formerly held (an office)”]
ex-2
, var. of
exo- before a vowel:
exarch. ex-3
, a prefix similar in meaning to
ex-1, occurring orig. in loanwords from Greek:
exegesis. Also,
before a consonant, ec-. [< Greek, prefixal use of
ex, ek, out (of), from, beyond; compare
ex-
1]
Ex.
Exodus.
ex.
1. examination.
2. examined.
3. example.
4. except.
5. exception.
6. exchange.
7. excursion.
8. executed.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.