Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Exist in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels exist as verb. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913verb
Exist

[L. existere, exsistere, to step out or forth, emerge, appear, exist; ex out + sistere to cause to stand, to set, put, place, stand still, fr. stare to stand: cf. F. exister. See Stand.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordexist
Part of speechverb
Historical etymology[L. existere, exsistere, to step out or forth, emerge, appear, exist; ex out + sistere to cause to stand, to set, put, place, stand still, fr. stare to stand: cf. F. exister. See Stand.]
Selected historical definitionTo be as a fact and not as a mode; to have an actual or real being, whether material or spiritual.
Signed record IDwebster1913-exist-verb-e9ce5e3d44a4
Source locatorCIDE.E, paragraph 8012; Gutenberg eBook 662
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 662Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "exist" is labeled verb. Its etymology is recorded as: "[L. existere, exsistere, to step out or forth, emerge, appear, exist; ex out + sistere to cause to stand, to set, put, place, stand still, fr. stare to stand: cf. F. exister. See Stand.]" The selected historical definition says: "To be as a fact and not as a mode; to have an actual or real being, whether material or spiritual."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

More released E records

Every card owns a different source record and historical sense.

adverb

Even

[AS. efne. See Even, a., and cf. E'en.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Example

[A later form for ensample, fr. L. exemplum, orig., what is taken out of a larger quantity, as a sample, from eximere to take out. See Exempt, and cf. Ensample, Sample.]

Webster 1913 exact recordadjective

English

[AS. Englisc, fr. Engle, Angle, Engles, Angles, a tribe of Germans from the southeast of Sleswick, in Denmark, who settled in Britain and gave it the name of England. Cf. Anglican.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Event

[L. eventus, fr. evenire to happen, come out; e out + venire to come. See Come.]

Webster 1913 exact recordverb

Enjoy

[OF. enjoier to receive with joy; pref. en- (L. in) + OF. & F. joie joy: cf. OF. enjoir to enjoy. See Joy.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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