Definition

1. Noun:
   • The act or process of extracting a passage or section from a larger text: "excerption" refers to the action of selecting and removing a specific part from a book, document, or other written work.
   • A passage or section so extracted; an excerpt: "excerption" can also refer to the extracted piece itself, a selected portion taken from a larger source.

Usage

• As a noun, "excerption" is a formal term. It is more commonly used in academic, literary, or bibliographic contexts than in everyday conversation. The simpler term "excerpt" is far more frequent for the extracted piece itself.
• The word describes both the process of selecting text and the result of that process.

Examples

• Noun (Act/Process):

  • The scholar's work involved the careful excerption of key paragraphs from the historical manuscript.
  • Digital tools have simplified the excerption of data from large archives.

• Noun (Extracted Piece):

  • The article included an excerption from the poet's early letters.
  • Each chapter begins with a relevant excerption from classical literature.

Advanced Usage

• "Excerption and compilation": a phrase used in research to describe the methodology of gathering source materials.
  • His thesis relied on the excerption and compilation of hundreds of primary sources.

Variants and Related Words

• Excerpt (n/v): The much more common word for a short extract from a text or to take such an extract.
  • She read an excerpt from the novel. (noun)
  • The passage was excerpted from his speech. (verb)
• Extract (n/v): A broader term for something removed or obtained from a source, not limited to text.
• Selection (n): A general term for something chosen.
• Quotation (n): A passage repeated exactly from a text or speech.

Synonyms

• Extraction: The action of taking something out.
• Selection: The act of carefully choosing.
• Abstract: A summary of a text.
• Fragment: A small part broken off.

Antonyms

• Insertion: The act of putting something in.
• Whole: The complete entity, not a part.
• Entirety: The full text or work.

Notes

• "Excerption" is a relatively rare and formal noun. In most contexts, especially when referring to the extracted text itself, using "excerpt" is preferable for clarity and simplicity. "Excerption" is more likely to be found in discussions about scholarly methodology or the technical process of working with texts.

Noun

1. a passage selected from a larger work
   • he presented excerpts from William James' philosophical writings