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American Dictionary of the English Language

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Excess


EXCESS', noun [Latin excessus, from excedo. See Exceed.]

1. Literally, that which exceeds any measure or limit, or which exceeds something else, or a going beyond a just line or point. Hence, superfluity; that which is beyond necessity or wants; as an excess of provisions; excess of light.

2. That which is beyond the common measure, proportion, or due quantity; as the excess of a limb; the excess of bile in the system.

3. Super abundance of any thing.

4. Any transgression of due limits.

5. In morals, any indulgence of appetite, passion or exertion, beyond the rules of God's word, or beyond any rule of propriety; intemperance in gratifications; as excess in eating or drinking; excess of joy; excess of grief; excess of love, or of anger; excess of labor.

6. In arithmetic and geometry, the difference between any two unequal numbers or quantities; that which remains when the lesser number or quantity is taken from the greater.