exception

Etymology

From Middle English exception, excepcioun, from Anglo-Norman excepcioun, from Old French excepcion, from Latin exceptiō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əkˈsɛpʃən/, /ɪkˈsɛpʃən/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Homophone: acception (for pronunciations with schwa)

Noun

exception (countable and uncountable, plural exceptions)

1. The act of excepting or excluding; exclusion; restriction by taking out something which would otherwise be included, as in a class, statement, rule.

   the exception of a rule

2. That which is excluded from others; a person, thing, or case, specified as distinct, or not included.

   Synonym: outlier

   Antonyms: commonness, generality

   That rule is usually true, but there are a few exceptions.

   • 2012, Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow, →ISBN, page 31:

     The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution had abolished slavery but allowed one major exception: slavery remained appropriate as punishment for a crime.

3. (law) An objection, on legal grounds; also, as in conveyancing, a clause by which the grantor excepts or reserves something before the right is transferred.
5. (usually followed by to or against) An objection; cavil; dissent; disapprobation; offense; cause of offense.
6. (programming) An interruption in normal processing, typically caused by an error condition, that can be raised ("thrown") by one part of the program and handled ("caught") by another part.

   null pointer exception

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin exceptiōnem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛk.sɛp.sjɔ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

exception f (plural exceptions)

1. exception

   Antonym: règle

   L’exception confirme la règle. ― The exception proves the rule.

2. (programming) exception (interruption in normal processing, typically caused by an error condition)

Further reading

• “exception”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.