What does excremental mean?
Excremental is an adjective meaning relating to or consisting of excrement — the waste matter discharged from the body. It derives from the same Latin root as 'excrement' and belongs largely to formal, medical, literary, or critical registers. In literal use it appears in discussions of sanitation, biology, and history, as in descriptions of medieval urban hygiene or the excremental habits of animals. Figuratively, the word serves as a forceful, somewhat erudite way of calling something vile or utterly worthless, a use favored by critics and satirists who want invective with a learned edge. It should not be confused with the similar-sounding 'incremental,' which describes gradual increases. Though never a common word, excremental is precise, expressive, and unmistakable in both its literal and figurative senses, making it a useful addition to a vocabulary of vivid, exact description.
adjectiveRelating to or consisting of excrement; of the nature of bodily waste matter. More broadly and figuratively, used to describe something as worthless, vile, or contemptible.
- Of or relating to excrement; consisting of bodily waste.
- (Figurative, informal) Worthless, vile, or contemptible.
"The novel's scatological humor drew heavily on excremental imagery."
"The critic dismissed the film as excremental entertainment with no redeeming qualities."
"Sewer systems were an ancient response to the excremental realities of dense urban life."
The same Latin verb that gives us 'secret' also gives us 'excrement' — to separate out what's kept from what's discarded.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of excremental
Excremental comes from Latin excrementum ('that which is sifted or separated out'), a noun formed from excernere, meaning to sieve out or discharge. This verb combines ex- ('out') with cernere ('to sift, distinguish'), the root behind words such as 'discern,' 'secret,' and 'concern.' The adjective was formed in English from 'excrement,' which entered English via Old French or directly from Latin in the late Middle Ages, with the adjectival form attested from around the early modern period onward.
How excremental is actually used
Primarily a formal, clinical, or literary term when used literally; the figurative use ('utterly worthless') is informal and often deliberately crude. The British spelling variant context does not apply here, though 'faecal' vs 'fecal' differs regionally among synonyms rather than for this word itself.
Easily confused with excremental
Incremental means increasing by small successive amounts, while excremental relates to bodily waste or something worthless.
Elemental refers to basic forces of nature or essential components, whereas excremental concerns waste matter or vileness.