Word.ws English Dictionary

exception that proves the rule

exception that proves the rule noun: the rare occurrence of a counterexample to a rule, used to demonstrate that the rule exists.

Noun

exception that proves the rule (plural exceptions that prove the rule or exceptions that prove rules)

  1. The rare occurrence of a counterexample to a rule, used to demonstrate that the rule exists.
    • A bishop ... is not bound to obey any Mandate but the King's; which Exception proves the Rule, and that he is inexcusably oblig'd to obey the King's1688, [anonymous], An Answer to a Paper Importing a Petition of the Archbishop of Canterbury and Six other Bishops to His Majesty, London: Henry Hills, page 14
    • Some statutes give justices of the peace a power of proceeding on default, but the exception proves the rule in the thing not excepted; it seems therefore that the defendant should have been apprehended by a warrant1775, "A Gentleman of Lincoln's Inn", A Digest of Adjudged Cases in the Court of King's Bench, London: G. Kearsly and G. Robinson, page 85

Forms of exception that proves the rule

pluralexceptions that prove the rule
pluralexceptions that prove rules

Origin of exception that proves the rule

Derived from the medieval Latin legal principle "exceptio probat regulam in casibus non exceptis" ("the exception tests the rule in the cases not excepted").

Questions about exception that proves the rule

What does exception that proves the rule mean?
Exception that proves the rule means the rare occurrence of a counterexample to a rule, used to demonstrate that the rule exists.
What part of speech is exception that proves the rule?
Exception that proves the rule is a noun.
What is the plural of exception that proves the rule?
The plural of exception that proves the rule is exceptions that prove the rule.

Words near exception that proves the rule in the dictionary

  1. exceptio quod metus causa
  2. exception
  3. exception handler
  4. exception handlers
  5. exception handling
  6. exception that proves the rule
  7. exceptionability
  8. exceptionable
  9. exceptionableness
  10. exceptionably
  11. exceptional

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: exception that proves the rule (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-exception that proves the rule.ogg.

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