excel

t. & i. [Fr. exceller, from Lat. excello =(1) to raise, (2) to excel: ex out, fully, and cello to impel; Gr. kello =to drive, to impel.] A. Transitive : 1. To surpa in qualities; to exceed, to outdo. "Wisdom excelleth foolishne , as far as light doth darkne e." - Bible (1551), Eccles . ii. 2. To be too great for; to exceed or go beyond one's power. "She opened, But to shut excelled her power." B. Intransitive : Milton: P. L. , ii. 883, 884. 1. To po e certain qualities in a degree exceed ing other persons or things. "Bid these in elegance of form excel , In color these, and those delight the smell." Cowper: Retirement , 793, 794. 2. To surpa others in good or laudable acts; to be eminent or illustrious. IMG:content-1220.png:[blocks in formation] a temperate life. Transcend signifies climbing beyond; and outdo signifies doing out of the ordinary course: the former, like surpa , refers rather to the state of things; and outdo , like excel , to the exertions of persons: the former rises in sense above surpa ; but the latter is only employed in particular cases, that is, to excel in action; excel is, however, confined to that which is good; outdo to that which is good or bad." ( Crabb : Eng . Synon.)