Excerpt is usually a noun (pronounced EK-sert.) It means a short extract taken out of a book, film, piece of music etc, and (usually) printed or used in some other way.
For instance, a TV programme about "The 100 Greatest TV comedy Moments" would consist mainly of 1-2 minute excerpts from different comedy series. Or you can print an excerpt from a new book in a magazine.
The word can also be a verb, in which case it is pronounced ek-SERT. You could say, "This passage has been excerpted from J. Smith's book." This usage is much less common, though.
There is an even rarer adjective, excerptible (ie, it is possible and/ or legal to take excerpts from it.) The act of making an excerpt can be called excerption.
The word excerpt comes from the Latin excerptum, which means "Thing which is plucked out."
For instance, a TV programme about "The 100 Greatest TV comedy Moments" would consist mainly of 1-2 minute excerpts from different comedy series. Or you can print an excerpt from a new book in a magazine.
The word can also be a verb, in which case it is pronounced ek-SERT. You could say, "This passage has been excerpted from J. Smith's book." This usage is much less common, though.
There is an even rarer adjective, excerptible (ie, it is possible and/ or legal to take excerpts from it.) The act of making an excerpt can be called excerption.
The word excerpt comes from the Latin excerptum, which means "Thing which is plucked out."
