n. 1. An internal tax imposed on the production, sale, or consumption of a commodity or the use of a service within a country: excises on tobacco, liquor, and long-distance telephone calls. 2. A licensing charge or a fee levied for certain privileges. tr.v. ex·cised, ex·cis·ing, ex·cis·es To levy an excise on. [Middle Dutch excijs, alteration (influenced by Latin excīsus, past participle of excīdere, to cut out) of accijs, tax, probably from Old French acceis, partly from Vulgar Latin *accēnsum (Latin ad-, ad- + Latin cēnsus, tax; see CENSUS) and partly from Old French assise, legislative ordinance; see ASSIZE.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
tr.v. ex·cised, ex·cis·ing, ex·cis·es To remove by or as if by cutting: excised the tumor; excised two scenes from the film. [Latin excīdere, excīs- : ex-, ex- + caedere, to cut; see kaə-id- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] ex·cision (-sĭzhən) n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.