Exit is not really an English word so much as a Latin verb English adopted whole. It is exit, "he or she goes out," the third person singular of exire, from ex-, "out," plus ire, "to go." English took it in the 1530s as a stage direction — the instruction written in the margin of a play telling one actor to leave.
From there it became a noun for a departure in the 1580s, a way of departure by the 1690s, and specifically a door in 1786. Because it started life as a verb form, it has an oddity most people never meet: the plural stage direction is exeunt, "they go out." Fowler grumbled that those who know neither Latin nor plays forget this. It sits at the top of the ladder go, depart, exit — native, French and Latin for the same act.
exit (n.) 1530s (late 15c. as a Latin word in English), originally a stage direction, from Latin exit "he or she goes out," third person singular present indicative of exire "go out, go forth, depart," from ex- "out" (see ex- ) + ire "to go" (from PIE root *ei- "to go"). Also from Latin exitus "a leaving, a going out," noun of action from exire . Meaning "a departure" (originally from the stage) is from 1580s. Meaning "a way of departure" is from 1690s; specific meaning "door for leaving" is from 1786. The verb is c. 1600, from the noun; it ought to be left to stage directions and the clunky jargon of police reports. Related: Exited ; exiting . Those who neither know Latin nor read plays are apt to forget or not know that this is a singular verb with plural exeunt . [Fowler] Exit poll attested by 1980. also from 1530s
exit came in through Latin, and its spelling follows that family's conventions.
On the register ladder
English kept all three words for this idea, one from each layer, and the rung is itself the cue: the native word is blunt and concrete, the French one polite, the Latin one formal or technical.
| Old English | French | Latin |
|---|---|---|
| go | depart | exit |