Excellent, exceptional, or distinguished; select or preeminent.
From Latin eximius meaning 'taken out, exceptional, distinguished, excellent.' The root ex- 'out' plus emere 'to take' suggests something chosen or taken out as special.
This beautiful but nearly extinct word once described anything exceptional or select — its rarity today shows how English has moved toward simpler synonyms like 'excellent' and 'distinguished.'
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.