excel, v.
(ɛkˈsɛl)
Also 5–8 excell(e.
[ad. F. excelle-r, ad. L. excellĕre to rise above others, be eminent, f. ex- (see ex- prefix1) + *cellĕre to rise high, tower, a vb. found only in compds., whose root appears in the adj. celsus lofty.]
1. intr. To be superior or preëminent in the possession of some quality, or in the performance of some action, usually in a good sense; to surpass others. Const. in, sometimes at.
| 14.. Circumcis. in Tundale's Vis. (1843) 92 And the thyrd he calleth holyness For hit excelleth in perfeccion. c 1430 Lydg. Lyfe St. Albon (1534) A ij, His goodnes so hyghly doth excell. 1529 More Comf. agst. Trib. ii. Wks. 1206/1 Some other vertue..wherein the ryche manne maye..excelle. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. iv. 17 Pecocks, that excell in pride. 1611 Bible Gen. xlix. 4 Vnstable as water, thou shalt not excell. 1634 Sir. T. Herbert Trav. 185 They are to say truly a warlike..but desperate nation, excell in theeving. 1709 Pope Ess. Crit. 15 Let those teach others who themselves excel. 1781 Cowper Retirement 793 The Power That..Bids these in elegance or form excel. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. x. 79 Ambitious of excelling at the game. 1811 Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life I. 132 Scott certainly does not excel in the Spenser stanza. |
† b. To be in greater proportion than another thing; to preponderate; = exceed 5. Obs.
| 16.. Tarquin & Tullia, It was hard to tell, Whether its [the land's] guilt or losses did excel. |
2. trans. To be superior to (others) in the possession of some quality, or in the performance of some action; usually in a good sense; to outdo, surpass. Const. in, occas. at.
| 1493 Petronilla (Pynson) 6 Petronylla..All other maydyns excelled in fairenesse. 1514 Barclay Egloge ii. (1570), The wretched lazar..Hath life which doth the courters life excell. 1596 Spenser F.Q. v. xii. 35 A wicked hag, and Envy selfe excelling In mischiefe. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 490, I..see How beauty is excelld by manly grace And wisdom. 1675 Hobbes Odyssey (1677) 86 We do all other men excel At wrestling..leaping, running well. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 273 ¶2 Homer has excelled all the heroic poets that ever wrote, in the multitude and variety of his characters. 1768 W. Gilpin Ess. Prints 167 Goupy very happily caught the manner of Salvator; and in some things excelled him. 1820 Shelley Hymn to Mercury ii, She gave to light a babe all babes excelling. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth Introd., The Castle may excel us in extent of prospect and natural sublimity of site. |
b. To surpass (another's qualities or work). rare.
| 1611 Heywood Gold. Age i. Wks. 1874 III. 14 Sibill should produce a sonne, That should his Fathers vertues much excell. 1799–81 Johnson L.P., Pope Wks. IV. 18 He has excelled every composition of the same kind. |
† 3. a. To be greater than, exceed. b. To be too hard or great for, overpower. Obs.
| 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 884 She op'nd, but to shut Excel'd her power. Ibid. viii. 456 An object that excels the sense. 1703 T. N. City & C. Purch. 5 A well proportion'd Ante⁓chamber, ought..in length..not to excel the breadth. |