except 1
/ik sept"/ , prep.
1. with the exclusion of; excluding; save; but: They were all there except me.
2. except for , if it were not for: She would travel more except for lack of money.
conj.
3. only; with the exception (usually fol. by that ): parallel cases except that one is younger than the other.
4. otherwise than; but (fol. by an adv., phrase, or clause): well fortified except here.
5. Archaic. unless.
[ 1350-1400; ME: orig., ptp. adj. exceptus (ptp. of excipere to take out), equiv. to ex- EX- 1 + -ceptus (comb. form of captus, ptp. of capere to take) ]
Syn. 1. EXCEPT (more rarely EXCEPTING), BUT, SAVE point out something excluded from a general statement. EXCEPT emphasizes the excluding: Take any number except 12. BUT merely states the exclusion: We ate all but one. SAVE is now mainly found in poetic use: nothing in sight save sky and sea.
except 2
— exceptable , adj.
/ik sept"/ , v.t.
1. to exclude; leave out: present company excepted.
v.i.
2. to object (usually fol. by to or against ): to except to a statement; to except against a witness.
[ 1350-1400; ME excepten excepter exceptare, deriv. of exceptus (see EXCEPT 1 ) ]
Usage . See accept .