To exclude someone or something from a rule, agreement, or general statement; to leave out.
From Latin 'exceptus' (taken out), related to 'excipere' meaning to take out or exclude, with the '-ed' suffix marking past tense.
The phrase 'present company excepted' is a polite Victorian formula that let people insult a whole group without offending the person right in front of them—a linguistic loophole for gentle rudeness.
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