Exempt

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Pronunciation: /ɪɡˈzɛmpt/

Definitions

1. Not subject to a rule, duty, or obligation ; to release someone or something from a rule, duty, or requirement
2. Excluded from a law, duty, or burden that others must follow ; to officially excuse or exclude from a general obligation or rule
3. Relieved of a responsibility or condition imposed on others ; to grant an exception that frees from compliance with a rule or requirement

Etymology: "Exempt" began as a Latin verb's past participle and still carries the physical act of taking something out. The Latin "eximere" combines "ex-", "out", with "emere", "to take" (the same root that gives "redeem" and "premium"), so its basic sense was to take out or remove. The past participle "exemptus" described something already taken out, and from it came the sense of being set apart from the ordinary run of things. The word reached English through Middle French "exempt", where it had come to mean free from an obligation or burden imposed on others. English adopted it as an adjective for people released from a duty, and later as a verb meaning to grant such release. The verb sense is the one in which a rule or tax is formally lifted from a particular person or group, so a modern exemption is essentially a legal act of taking someone out of the net.

Synonyms: free, excused

Antonyms: obligated, bound