exploit

exploit
\ \ [14] Latin explicāre (source of English explicate and explicit) meant ‘unfold’. A Vulgar Latin descendant of its past participle was *explictumsomething unfolded’, which passed into Old French as exploit or esplait. In the process, the original sense of ‘unfolding’ had developed through ‘bringing out, development’ and ‘advantage, success’ to ‘achievement’. In the case of the English noun, it is the latter meaning which has survived, and in fact originally the verb too denoted ‘achieve, accomplish’. This seems to have died out in the 18th century, however, and when the verb reappears in the 19th century it is closer to the earlier ‘develop’ in meaning, particularly as applied to ‘getting the most out of’ natural resources. The modern derogatory sense ‘use for one’s own selfish ends’ emerged from this.
\ \ Cf.EXPLICIT, FOLD, PLY

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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Synonyms:
(especially an heroic act), , , , , ,


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  • exploit — [ ɛksplwa ] n. m. • XIVe; espleit 1080; lat. explicitum, de explicare « accomplir » 1 ♦ Vx ou littér. Action d éclat accomplie à la guerre. ⇒ 2. fait (fait d armes; haut fait), geste. Glorieux, brillant exploit. « les départements bretons,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • exploit — EXPLOIT. s. m. Action signalée, memorable, principalement à la guerre. Exploit militaire. bel exploit. grand exploit. glorieux exploit. il s est signalé par ses exploits. il s est rendu fameux par mille exploits. Il signifie aussi, Un acte que… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • exploit — ex‧ploit [ɪkˈsplɔɪt] verb [transitive] 1. to use something fully and effectively in order to gain a profit or advantage: • New TV companies are fully exploiting the potential of satellite transmission. • the ways in which natural resources are… …   Financial and business terms

  • Exploit — Ex*ploit , n. [OE. esploit success, OF. esploit, espleit,revenue, product, vigor, force, exploit, F. exploit exploit, fr. L. explicitum, prop. p. p. neut. of explicare to unfold, display, exhibit; ex + plicare to fold. See {Ply}, and cf.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Exploit — can mean: *Exploit (computer security) *Exploit (online gaming) *Exploit (natural resources) *Exploit (sociology)*An achievement. The first summit of mount Everest was a stunning exploit. *The longest river on the island of Newfoundland is called …   Wikipedia

  • Exploit — (del inglés to exploit, explotar o aprovechar) es una pieza de software, un fragmento de datos, o una secuencia de comandos con el fin de automatizar el aprovechamiento de un error, fallo o vulnerabilidad, a fin de causar un comportamiento no… …   Wikipedia Español

  • exploit — [eks′ploit΄; ] also, and for v.usually [, ek sploit′, iksploit′] n. [ME & OFr esploit, an exploit, action < L explicitum, neut. pp. of explicare: see EXPLICATE] an act remarkable for brilliance or daring; bold deed vt. 1. to make use of; turn… …   English World dictionary

  • Exploit — (viene de to exploit aprovechar) código escrito con el fin de aprovechar un error de programación para obtener diversos privilegios software. Un buen número de exploits tienen su origen en un conjunto de fallos similares. Algunos de los grupos de …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • exploit — [n] achievement accomplishment, adventure, attainment, coup, deed, do, effort, enterprise, escapade, feat, job, maneuver, performance, stroke, stunt, tour de force, venture; concept 706 exploit [v] take advantage of; misuse abuse, apply, avail… …   New thesaurus

  • Exploit — (frz. exploa), Heldenthat; e. ation (–ploatassiong), Nutzung, Ausbeutung; exploitiren, einen Auftrag vollziehen; nutzen, ausbeuten …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • exploit — I (make use of) verb apply, avail oneself of, bring into play, capitalize on, consume, employ, exercise, fall back on, find useful, implement, make the most of, manipulate, operate, profit by, put in practice, put into action, put into operation …   Law dictionary

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