Excurse
/ɪkˈskɝːs/noun
To digress or wander away from the main subject; also, to go out or travel forth in a brief excursion.
Did you know?Excurse is a real, old literary word built from the Latin root of excursion and excursion’s cousin, showing how one tiny prefix can turn “run” into “run out” in the language of movement.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
excurrere
“to run out, run forth, or extend outward”
Late Latin
Latin
excursus
“a running out; a digression or side trip”
Middle English
English
excurse
“to digress or make a brief excursion”
Modern English
English
excurse
“to digress or wander from the main subject”