And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless
me. --Gen. xxxii.
26.
But yesterday you never opened lip, Except, indeed, to
drink. --Tennyson.
Note: As a conjunction unless has mostly taken the place of
except.
God and his Son except, Created thing naught valued he
nor . . . shunned. --Milton.
Syn: {Except}, {Excepting}, {But}, {Save}, {Besides}.
Usage: Excepting, except, but, and save are exclusive. Except
marks exclusion more pointedly. ``I have finished all
the letters except one,'' is more marked than ``I have
finished all the letters but one.'' Excepting is the
same as except, but less used. Save is chiefly found
in poetry. Besides (lit., by the side of) is in the
nature of addition. ``There is no one here except or
but him,'' means, take him away and there is nobody
present. ``There is nobody here besides him,'' means,
hi is present and by the side of, or in addition to,
him is nobody. ``Few ladies, except her Majesty, could
have made themselves heard.'' In this example, besides
should be used, not except.
Who never touched The excepted tree. --Milton.
Wherein (if we only except the unfitness of the
judge) all other things concurred. --Bp.
Stillingfleet.
2. To object to; to protest against. [Obs.] --Shak.
Except thou wilt except against my love. --Shak.