excuse
Never excuse excuse makers lightly.
The sentence advises against forgiving people who habitually invent justifications.
Meanings
to forgive, pardon, or release from an obligation
- Please excuse my late arrival.
- The teacher excused her from the test.
a reason offered to justify or defend a fault or shortcoming
- He came up with a flimsy excuse.
- Don't make excuses — just apologize.
Word origin
From Old French escuser, from Latin excūsāre ('to absolve from blame, free from accusation'), formed from ex- ('out of') + causa ('cause, accusation'). The verb-noun voicing alternation /z/-vs-/s/ is the same fossil pattern visible in 'use', 'abuse', 'house', and 'advise/advice' — verbs voice the final consonant, nouns leave it voiceless.
Fun fact
The Latin causa ('cause') is also the root of 'cause', 'because', and 'accuse'. To excuse is literally to take someone OUT OF the cause (accusation); to accuse is to put them INTO it. The legal vocabulary of fault and absolution is built from a single Latin word.