Excuse
Middle English: from Old French escuser (verb), from Latin excusare ‘to free from blame’, from ex- ‘out’ + causa ‘accusation, cause’.
wiktionary
From Middle English excusen(verb) and excuse(noun), borrowed from Old French escuser(verb) and excuse(noun), from Latin excūsō, excūsāre(“to excuse, allege in excuse, literally, free from a charge”), from ex(“out”) + causa(“a charge”); see cause, accuse and recuse. Displaced native Old English lādian(“to excuse”) and lādung(“an excuse”).
etymonline
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 "apologize, make excuses" (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.).
