excursus

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ɛkˈskɜrsəs/ UK /ɛkˈskɜːsəs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a detailed digression appended to or inserted within a text

The author paused for a long excursus on the city's medieval guilds.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a detailed digression... digression aside disquisition appendix tangentdiscursion

Word family

Related forms excursionexcursivecourse

Etymology

From Latin excursus ('a running out, excursion, digression'), from excurrere ('to run out'), from ex- ('out') + currere ('to run').

excursus Latin currere Latin *ḱers- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# excursus

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɛkˈskɜrsəs/
**IPA (UK):** /ɛkˈskɜːsəs/

## Meanings
1. a detailed digression appended to or inserted within a text

## Examples
- The author paused for a long excursus on the city's medieval guilds.

## Synonyms
- digression
- aside
- disquisition
- appendix
- tangent
- discursion

## Related Forms
- excursion
- excursive
- course

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: excursus
- Root: currere
- Root: *ḱers-

## Etymology
From Latin excursus ('a running out, excursion, digression'), from excurrere ('to run out'), from ex- ('out') + currere ('to run').

## AI Etymology
Excursus comes from Latin excursus ('a running out, excursion, digression'), from excurrere ('to run out'), from ex- ('out') + currere ('to run'). Morphologically, the form is compositional: ex- marks part of the visible structure, while the remaining element supplies the lexical base. In present use, it is used as a noun meaning "a detailed digression appended to or inserted within a text", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes related forms such as excursion, excursive, and course, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Latin excursus, Latin currere, and Proto-Indo-European *ḱers-, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance. Its semantic neighborhood includes digression, aside, disquisition, and appendix, locating the modern specialization without adding a new origin story.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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