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DictionaryRoot: ex-
Latin

ex-

out, away; also thoroughly

Forms

  • ex-
  • e- — Shortened in Latin before certain consonants.
  • ef- — Used before f in Latin.
  • es- — Developed from ex- in French.
  • s- — In some French borrowings, es- lost its initial e.

Origin

Reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *eghs, ‘out.’

Note

The outward sense could extend to carrying an action through completely.

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Show the literal skin-scraping sense: a woman seated beside a rough concrete step examines a fresh, shallow abrasion on her shin, with superficial scraped skin clearly visible and no graphic injury.
noun

excoriation

ik-skor-ee-AY-shun/ɪkˌskɔːriˈeɪʃn/

Scraping away or damaging the skin.

Etymology
exLatinout, away; also thoroughly
+coriLatinhide, skin
+ationLatinan action, process, or result

The pieces describe stripping skin off, the literal basis of excoriation as skin damage. The figurative meaning turns that flaying into severe verbal criticism.

Full entry

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