Exceptive

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Pertaining to a specific exclusion from a general rule or category, it denotes the aspects associated with exceptions in legal or logical reasoning, and relates to the identification of variations that create distinctions within set frameworks
2. Concerning the aspect of excluding something from a general statement or rule
3. Connected with specifying items or cases that are not included within a broader category

Etymology: "Exceptive" is one of those words that is simply a tool for building meaning from a smaller one: it is "except" with the suffix "-ive" attached. "Except" itself came into English from Old French "excepter," which in turn came from Latin "excipere," meaning "to take out" or "to exclude," built from "ex-" ("out") and "capere" ("to take"). So the core idea sitting inside "exceptive" is literally a act of taking something out of a group. The suffix "-ive," borrowed through Old French from Latin "-ivus," turns a verb-like root into an adjective describing a quality or tendency, as in "active" or "restrictive." Put together, "exceptive" describes what has to do with setting something apart from the rest. It is a plain, transparent formation, and a reader who knows "except" and "-ive" can work out its meaning without any help.