exodus
noun
ˈeg-zə-
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Don't Leave Without the History of Exodos
The Biblical book of Exodus describes the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, so it's no surprise that the word exodus, uncapitalized, has come to refer more generally to any mass departure. Exodus was adopted into English (via Latin) from the Greek word Exodos, which literally means “the road out.” Exodos was formed by combining the prefix ex-, meaning “out of,” and hodos, meaning “road” or “way.” Indeed, many roads led out of hodos into English; other hodos descendants include episode, method, odometer, and period. While exodus is occasionally encountered in reference to an individual’s leaving (e.g., “his/her/their exodus”), such usage is likely to raise the eyebrows of editors who feel it should only refer to the departure en masse of a large group of people, as when novelist Nnedi Okorafor writes in her science fiction novel Lagoon (2015): “Everyone was trying to get somewhere, be it a church, a bar, home or out of Lagos. Then there was the exodus of people … to the parts of the city that had the least chance of flooding if the water rose too high.”
Examples of exodus in a Sentence
Stephen McGrath and Nicolae Dumitrache, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2024
Threats and scrutiny often linked to false claims of voter fraud have contributed to a mass exodus of local election officials in recent years, raising alarms about understaffed and inexperienced teams left to handle the process — and to face potential new threats.
—Julia Mueller, The Hill, 2 Nov. 2024
Photo: Little Vignettes Photo/Shutterstock The exodus is more annoying to the people further down the meat-packing food chain who have been driving to pick up from wholesalers here for a while — 120 years, in the case of Pino’s Prime Meats of Soho.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 28 Oct. 2024
The latest survey data from RE/MAX would suggest that despite strong economic growth and a multi-billion dollar surplus, a rampant decline in affordability could spur the next great exodus of Irish residents.
—Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 24 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Exodus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exodus. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.
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exodus
noun
from Latin Exodus "a book of the Bible," derived from Greek exodos "a road or journey out," from ex- "out" and hodos "road"
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