exonerate

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to officially clear someone from blame, an accusation, or criminal responsibility

   New evidence may exonerate the prisoner after twenty years.

2. 2
   verb

   formal: to release someone from a duty, obligation, or burden

   The waiver does not exonerate the contractor from responsibility for negligence.

Simplified etymology

Exonerate came into English in the late Middle Ages from Latin exonerare, meaning “free from a burden.” The Latin verb combines ex- “from” with onus, oner- “burden,” and the English sense developed into “absolve from blame.”

From Middle English exoneraten and Latin exonerare, 'to unload or free from a burden,' formed from ex-, 'out of,' + onus (oner-), 'burden.' The physical idea of unloading developed into release from an obligation and then the now-prominent legal sense of clearing someone from blame.

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External links

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