What does exciseman mean?
An exciseman was an official charged with collecting excise duty — a tax levied on goods manufactured or sold within a country, most famously spirits, beer, tobacco, and tea. The term is essentially British and belongs largely to the past: excisemen served under the Board of Excise from the 17th century until its merger with Customs in 1909, though the modern equivalent would be a revenue or HMRC officer. The word evokes a particular era of British history, when excisemen inspected breweries, distilleries, and warehouses, sealed casks, and pursued smugglers along remote coastlines. Because evasion was widespread, the figure of the exciseman acquired connotations of officiousness and intrusion, making it a useful word for writers of historical fiction and social history alike.
nounA government official responsible for collecting excise duties on goods such as tobacco, alcohol, and tea; historically a British officer of the Excise service.
- A British government official who collected excise duties on domestically produced goods such as alcohol, tobacco, and tea (historical).
"The exciseman arrived at dawn to inspect the distillery's ledgers."
"The exciseman stamped the casks of brandy before they could be sold."
"Smugglers on the Cornish coast kept a constant lookout for the exciseman's approach."
Regular irregular plural formed by changing '-man' to '-men'.
"Two excisemen were stationed at every major port."
In the 18th century, smuggling tea into Britain was so rampant that excisemen were as feared by smugglers as any lawman in the Wild West.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of exciseman
Exciseman combines 'excise', a tax on domestic goods adopted into English around the 17th century, with 'man'. The term 'excise' itself derives via Middle Dutch 'excijs' from Late Latin 'accensus', a variant of 'census' meaning a tax, ultimately from Latin 'censēre', 'to assess'. It thus shares deep roots with English words such as 'census' and 'censor'.
Related word forms
How exciseman is actually used
The term is chiefly British and largely historical, tied to the old Board of Excise; it often appears in accounts of the 18th and 19th centuries and carries a faintly quaint or period flavour today.
Easily confused with exciseman
An executioner carries out death sentences, while an exciseman collects taxes on goods.
An exorcist drives out evil spirits, whereas an exciseman collects excise duties.