excitev.
/ᵻkˈsʌɪt/, /ɛkˈsʌɪt/, U.S. /ɪkˈsaɪt/, /ɛkˈsaɪt/ 1. transitive. To set in motion, stir up.absolute.c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 516 Þe kyng may take awey þes temporaltees from prelatis, whan laweful cause exitiþ.1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. ii. sig. Cc7 Whose prayse I would endyte..as dewtie doth excyte.1683 W. Soames tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Art of Poetry ii. 9 There native beauty pleases and excites.† b. To provoke, challenge. Obsolete.† c. In physical sense: To set in motion, stir up (so Latin excitare harenam, Sallust.) Obsolete. rare.
a. figurative. To move, stir up, instigate, incite. Const. †til, to, unto; to with infinitive or that (with subordinate clause); also simply. Now only with mixed notion of 5.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > motivate [verb (transitive)] > incite or instigate > bring about by incitement
stirc897
forthclepe?c1000
raisec1175
entice1297
rearc1325
excitea1340
arta1450
provocate?a1475
suscitate1528
to stir upc1530
provoke1535
store1552
concitea1555
upsteer1558
spirit1598
solicit1602
foment1606
fana1616
proritate1620
incite1627
ferment1660
spirita1680
brush1755
whip1805
to put (also set) (the) spurs to1819
fillipa1822
instigate1852
spark-plug1945
whomp1961
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter Prol. Þe sange of psalmes..excites aungels til oure help.
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter ix. 25 Antecrist sall..excite him [God] in his synn to punysch him.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) v. xxiii. 131 Oxen ben excited to traueile more by the swete songe of the heerd than by strokes and pryckes.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. v. f. vii Gwentolena..Excytyd her Fader and frendes to make warre vpon..Lotryne.
a1575 Abp. M. Parker in E. Farr Sel. Poetry Reign Elizabeth (1845) I. 2 Of Sabbath day the solemn feast Doth vs excyte by rest, God's mighty workes that we declare.
1656 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. II. v. 68 Exciting the Soul of the World, and converting it to himself.
a1701 H. Maundrell Journey Aleppo to Jerusalem (1703) 134 Excite those people to use a little more fervour in their prayers.
1722 W. Wollaston Relig. of Nature v. 118 We excite children by praising them.
1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. iv. iv. 129 That veteran intriguer..excited his attendants to resist.
1839 T. Keightley Hist. Eng. II. 54 He was sent to try to excite the emperor to a crusade.
1850 J. McCosh Method Divine Govt. (1874) ii. iii. 254 The imagination is apt to be still more excited by the stirring incidents of war.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > [verb (transitive)] > challenge to hostilities
excitea1340
defyc1380
descryc1400
provoke1477
the mind > emotion > anger > [verb (transitive)] > make angry
wrethec900
abelgheeOE
abaeileOE
teenOE
i-wrathec1075
wratha1200
awratha1250
gramec1275
forthcalla1300
excitea1340
grieve1362
movea1382
achafea1400
craba1400
angerc1400
mada1425
provokec1425
forwrecchec1450
wrothc1450
arage1470
incensea1513
puff1526
angry1530
despite1530
exasperate1534
exasper1545
stunt1583
pepper1599
enfever1647
nanger1675
to put or set up the back1728
roil1742
outrage1818
to put a person's monkey up1833
to get one's back up1840
to bring one's nap up1843
rouse1843
to get a person's shirt out1844
heat1855
to steam up1860
to get one's rag out1862
steam1922
to burn up1923
to flip out1964
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter v. 12 Out pute þaim: for þai excitid þe lord.
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Judith xiv. 12 Myis ben goon out of her caues, and doren excite us to batel.
1485 W. Caxton tr. Thystorye & Lyf Charles the Grete sig. bviij/2 (heading) Of Fyerabras how he came to excyte thexcersyte of Charles.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > cause to move [verb (transitive)]
stira1023
icchec1175
wawc1290
movea1382
remble1579
rouse1582
agitate1592
act1597
to put in (also into, to) motion1597
activate1624
actuate1641
animate1646
ferment1667
to feague away1671
to carry about1680
excite1694
jee1722
bestir1813
emotion1831
to set on1855
send1864
motion1929
1694 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in Ann. Misc. 26 He snuffs the Wind, his heels the Sand excite.
2. To rouse, awaken.† a. literal. To rouse from unconsciousness. rare.† b. To call up (a departed spirit). Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > [verb (transitive)] > restore to consciousness
wakenc1175
wakec1369
excitec1440
refetch1599
to bring again1636
c1440 N. Love tr. Bonaventura Mirror Life Christ (Sherard MS.) xlv. 101 Than was our lady excited and roos as it hadde ben fro sleep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > [verb (transitive)] > invoke (a spirit)
conjurec1290
reara1382
to call upc1390
raisec1395
devocatec1570
adjure1585
invoke1602
evoke1623
incantate1623
conjure1637
excitea1639
evocate1675
incant1926
a1639 H. Wotton View Life & Death Duke of Buckingham in Reliquiæ Wottonianæ (1672) 208 Unless..we could..excite them again, and confer a while with their naked Ghosts.
c. To call forth or quicken (a faculty, feeling, etc.) from potential into actual existence; to rouse up, awaken (what is dormant, sluggish, or latent).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > quality of affecting the emotions > affect with emotion [verb (transitive)] > cause or give rise to an emotion
rearOE
arear?c1225
annoyc1300
movea1325
excite1393
raisea1400
lighta1413
stirc1430
provokec1450
provocate?a1475
rendera1522
to stir upc1530
excitate?1549
inspire1576
yield1576
to turn up1579
rouse1589
urge1594
incense1598
upraisea1600
upreara1600
irritate1612
awakena1616
recreate1643
pique1697
arouse1730
unlull1743
energize1753
evocate1827
evoke1856
vibe1977
1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 18 Venus..Hath yive him drinke..Of thilke cuppe., whiche exciteth The lust.
1447 O. Bokenham Lyvys Seyntys (1835) Introd. 4 The fyrst cause is for to excyte Menys affeccyoun.
1648 Bp. J. Wilkins Math. Magick i. i. 3 Such mysticall expressions, as might excite the peoples wonder.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 125 With Shouts, the Cowards Courage they excite . View more context for this quotation
1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 304 'Tis the Design of Tragedy to excite Compassion in the Auditory.
1700 Moxon's Mech. Exercises: Bricklayers-wks. 5 The Fire in Lime burnt..lies hid..but Water excites it again.
1722 W. Wollaston Relig. of Nature iii. 55 A master may, by the exercises he sets, excite the superior capacity of his scholars.
1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women I. iii. 103 Who can describe the detestation it excites?
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) IV. 495 The characters excite little or no interest.
3. To induce, elicit, provoke (actions, manifestations); to bring about, occasion (active conditions).
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > [verb (transitive)]
wieldeOE
timberc897
letc900
rearOE
doOE
i-wendeOE
workOE
makeOE
bringc1175
raisec1175
shapec1315
to owe (also have) a wold (also on wield)a1325
procurec1330
purchasec1330
causec1340
conform1377
performa1382
excite1398
induce1413
occasionate?c1450
occasionc1454
to bring about1480
gara1500
to bring to passc1513
encause1527
to work out1534
inferc1540
excitate?1549
import1550
ycause1563
frame1576
effect1581
to bring in1584
effectuatea1586
apport?1591
introduce1605
create1607
generate1607
cast1633
efficiate1639
conciliate1646
impetrate1647
state1654
accompass1668
to bring to bear1668
to bring on1671
effectivate1717
makee1719
superinduce1837
birth1913
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) vii. lxvii. 285 It is a generall medycyne to excyte spewynge.
c1400 Three Kings Cologne (1886) 122 Þe deuyll..excited..among þe pepil diuers opynyouns of heresy.
1576 T. Newton tr. L. Lemnie Touchstone of Complexions i. viii. f. 65v It is expedient to excite and cheerishe natiue heate wt exercyse.
1612 P. Pomarius Enchiridion Med. (new ed.) 111 Through a catarrhall distillation the cough is excited.
1704 W. Penn in Mem. Hist. Soc. Pennsylvania (1870) IX. 341 Excite his return, or to send for his family to him.
1786 W. Gilpin Observ. Mountains & Lakes Cumberland (1788) II. 60 Brass guns, for the purpose of exciting echoes.
1787 G. Winter New Syst. Husbandry 73 Heat..excites and promotes a motion in the fluids.
1797 E. Burke Lett. Peace Regic. France iii, in Wks. (1815) VIII. 303 They [the English ministry] did not excite the general confederacy in Europe.
1803 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 93 84 The bar..was melted in the strongest heat which could be excited.
1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) II. vii. 176 [He] had..endeavoured to excite an insurrection in the eastern counties.
1860 J. L. Motley Hist. Netherlands (1868) I. v. 192 Fire-ships, intended only to excite a conflagration of the bridge.
1871 J. S. Blackie Four Phases Morals i. 142 It may excite a smile when I say so.
4. To affect by a stimulus (bodily organs or tissues), so as to produce or intensify their characteristic activity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > stimulation > [verb (transitive)]
erect1620
stimulate1662
irritate1803
re-excite1816
excite1832
1832 D. Brewster Lett. Nat. Magic iii. 37 We observe it [the retina] to be so excited by local pressures..as to see in total darkness moving and shapeless masses of coloured light.
1855 A. Bain Senses & Intellect Introd. ii. 48 Irritation or contact with a surface, excites a single group of muscles in one way.
1875 C. Darwin Insectivorous Plants i. 4 Changes which take place within the cells of the tentacles when the glands are excited.
5. In modern use: To move to strong emotion, stir to passion; to stir up to eager tumultuous feeling, whether pleasurable or painful. Also intransitive and absol.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > excitement > exciting > excite [verb (transitive)]
astirc1000
stir?c1225
araisec1374
entalentc1374
flamec1380
reara1382
raisec1384
commove1393
kindlea1400
fluster1422
esmove1474
talent1486
heavec1540
erect?1555
inflame1560
to set on gog1560
yark1565
tickle1567
flesh1573
concitate1574
rouse1574
warmc1580
agitate1587
spirit1598
suscitate1598
fermentate1599
nettle1599
startle1602
worka1616
exagitate1621
foment1621
flush1633
exacuatea1637
ferment1667
to work up1681
pique1697
electrify1748
rattle1781
pump1791
to touch up1796
excite1821
to key up1835
to steam up1909
jazz1916
steam1922
volt1930
whee1949
to fire up1976
geek1984
1821 P. Egan Life in London i. vi. 85 If some of the plates should appear rather warm, the purchasers of ‘Life in London’ may feel assured, that nothing is added to them tending to excite.
1850 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis II. xxiii. 229 All the events of life, however strongly they may move or eagerly excite him, never can remove that sainted image from his heart.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 275 The population of Edinburgh was in an excited state.
1886 L. Stephen Life H. Fawcett viii. 352 The only result of his endeavours to bring it before the House had been to excite the Under-Secretary for India.
1891 Punch 101 121/2 ‘It excites me—it amuses me to talk to a cocher.’
1968 Listener 22 Feb. 252/3 Last week's legitimate television drama failed to excite.
6.
a. To induce electric or magnetic activity in (a substance); to set (an electric current) in motion; also absol.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > magnetism > magnetize [verb (transitive)]
excitate?1549
touch?1574
excite1646
magnetify1649
magnetize1792
animate1807
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > use friction [verb (transitive)]
excite1827
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrically induced magnetism > electromagnetic induction > produce by induction [verb (transitive)]
induce1777
excite1839
faradize1864
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica ii. ii. 60 If an iron or steele not formerly excited, be held perpendicularly or inclinatorily unto the needle, the lower end thereof will attract the cuspis or southerne point. View more context for this quotation
1827 M. Faraday Chem. Manip. xxiv. 631 Excite a glass rod by silk.
1839 G. Bird Elements Nat. Philos. 157 The magnets..are used merely to excite in the manner already explained.
1839 G. Bird Elements Nat. Philos. 277 The remarkable fact of magnets exciting electric currents in wires moved near them.
b. Photography. To render (a plate, etc.) sensitive to light; to sensitize.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > treatment of plates, films, or paper > [verb (transitive)]
mercurialize1843
actinize1844
albumenize1850
sensitize1851
wax1853
develop1859
sensibilize1860
organify1873
back1878
salt1878
excite1879
talc1888
alum1889
bleach1889
fume1890
orthochromatize1890
flash1903
pre-expose1925
hypersensitize1954
panchromatize1960
1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) III. 270 For exciting the collodion film a bath should be mixed.
1879 J. C. Leake in Cassell's Techn. Educator IV. 323/2 When excited the plate should be placed in the dark-slide.
7. Physics.
a. To induce a condition in (a substance) in which it emits a characteristic spectrum of radiation; to bring about the emission of (a spectrum).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > decomposition of light, spectrum > cause emission [verb (transitive)]
excite1913
1913 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 88 24 Elements..which emit secondary fluorescent X-radiation when excited by a suitable beam of Röntgen rays.
1926 R. W. Lawson tr. G. von Hevesy & F. A. Paneth Man. Radioactivity v. 51 The initial velocity of the β-rays excited in matter by γ-rays is independent of the intensity of the γ-rays... On the other hand, the initial velocity is dependent on the hardness of the exciting γ-radiation.
1959 Chambers's Encycl. XIII. 70/1 The electric arc is most suitable for exciting the line spectra of elements.
1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. (rev. ed.) XII. 581/1 Sources of radiation for spectrography are incandescent or electrically excited.
b. Hence, to render (an atom, etc.) excited (see excited adj. 2e).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > raising energy level, excitation > raise energy level [verb (transitive)]
excite1921
1921 Chem. Abstr. 15 1854 (heading) Observations on atoms excited by electron impact.
1934 H. E. White Introd. Atomic Spectra vi. 92 If in collision the energy exchange between..an electron and atom is all energy of translation, the atom is not excited and the collision is said to be elastic.
1953 P. Morrison in E. Segrè Exper. Nucl. Physics II. vi. xi. 150 One nucleon enters the nucleus..while four more are excited but ‘captured’, leaving the residual nucleus excited by 66 Mev.
1969 Times 11 July 14/2 Radio signals emitted by helium atoms excited by the high temperatures in the interstellar gas clouds.
Draft additions December 2006
transitive. To arouse (a person) sexually.
ΚΠ
1879 Pearl Oct. 108 To handle, feel, and revel in such a luxuriously covered pussy and bottom, excited me more every moment.
1930 D. H. Lawrence A Propos Lady Chatterley's Lover 25 We read of the woman-savage who wore three overcoats on top of one another to excite her man.
1959 M. Richler Apprenticeship Duddy Kravitz xii. 79 Gin excites them. Horseback riding gives them hot pants too.
1989 S. Fisher Sexual Images of Self ii. 53 It is possible that assertive women are more orgastic because they more forthrightly inform their sex partners as to the forms of sexual stimulation most likely to excite them strongly.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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