excuse

将“excuse”想象为“ex”加上“cuse”，其中“ex”像是一个短暂的逃跑动作，而“cuse”代表理由或借口。想象自己因为某种原因（cuse）需要迅速（ex）找借口逃离某种尴尬或责任，这样可以帮助记忆“excuse”的含义。

excuse 借口

ex-, 向外。-cus,原因，词源同causal, because.

excuse

excuse: [13] Etymologically, excuse means ‘free of accusation’. It comes via Old French from Latin excūsāre, a compound verb formed from the prefix ex-, denoting removal, and causa ‘cause’ – but ‘cause’ in the sense not of something that produces a result, but of ‘legal action, accusation’ (a meaning preserved in English ‘cause list’, for example) Originally, the s of both the noun and the verb was pronounced /z/; the /s/ of the modern English noun arose by analogy with such nouns as use and abuse.
=> accuse, cause

excuse (v.)

mid-13c., "attempt to clear (someone) from blame, find excuses for," from Old French escuser (12c., Modern French excuser) "apologize, make excuses; pardon, exonerate," from Latin excusare "excuse, apologize, make an excuse for, plead as an excuse; release from a charge; decline, refuse, excuse the refusal of" (source also of Spanish excusar, Italian scusare), from ex- "out, away" (see ex-) + causa "accusation, legal action" (see cause (n.)).

Sense of "forgive, pardon, accept another's plea of excuse" is from early 14c. Meaning "to obtain exemption or release from an obligation or duty; beg to be excused" is from mid-14c. in English, as is the sense "defend (someone or something) as right." Sense of "serve as justification for" is from 1530s. Related: Excused; excusing. Excuse me as a mild apology or statement of polite disagreement is from c. 1600.

excuse (n.)

late 14c., "pretext, justification," from Old French excuse, from excuser (see excuse (v.)). The sense of "that which serves as a reason for being excused" is recorded from mid-15c. As a noun, excusation is the earlier form (mid-14c.).

1. He'd telephoned with some phoney excuse she didn't believe for a minute.

他找了某个她根本不会相信的借口给她打电话。

2. National security is the stock excuse for keeping things confidential.

国家安全常被用作对一些事情保密的挡箭牌。

3. A conservatory offers the perfect excuse to let your imagination run riot.

音乐学院让你有充分的理由任想象力自由驰骋。

4. "Excuse me," she said to Jarvis, and left the room.

“抱歉出去一下，”她对贾维斯说，然后离开了房间。

5. He mumbled some lame excuse about having gone to sleep.

他含含糊糊地找了个蹩脚的借口，想要解释自己为什么睡着了。

【pardon, overlook, forgive, excuse】
这组词都有“原谅”的意思，其区别是：
pardon: 比excuse正式，指原谅或宽恕严重的过失或法律上的犯罪行为；在社会交场合则指对打搅他人表示歉意。
overlook: 语气较弱，指宽容或不计较无关大局的过失。
forgive: 侧重从心里宽恕某人，暗示放弃一切愤恨和要求报偿的权利。
excuse: 口语常用词，语气较轻。指原谅轻微的过错、疏忽或过失。

【cause, reason, excuse】
这组词都有“原因”的意思，其区别是：
cause: 指直接导致事情发生的原因，与所发生的事个有因果关系。
reason: 强调指从逻辑推理上得出的结论性原因，不是直接说明起因。
excuse: 指为自己辩解，希望得到谅解时所提出的种种理由，是借口性的理由。