excursus

noun

ex·​cur·​sus ik-ˈskər-səs 

plural excursuses also excursus ik-ˈskər-səs  -ˌsüs 

: an appendix or digression that contains further exposition of some point or topic

Synonyms

• addendum
• afterword
• appendix
• codicil
• supplement

Examples of excursus in a Sentence

this biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine contains an interesting excursus on the status of women in the Middle Ages

Recent Examples on the Web

Stylistically, some of the stories occasionally slip into excursus, a tell-don’t-show technique that is handy for unpacking scientific details or philosophical musings but risks sounding like a proof or a succession of lemmas. —Sheon Han, The New Republic, 23 Feb. 2021

There’s a detailed excursus into the California gubernatorial race of 1934, which Upton Sinclair lost, running on a poverty-fighting platform. —Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2020

His process involves a series of sketches, long textual excursuses and model-making with his team. —Nikil Saval, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2020

There are long critical essays, short book reviews, reportage with a literary inflection, histories, missives, diary entries, aphorisms, parables, advice, dreams, a test, fictional excursus and, yes, lists. —Zachary Fine, WSJ, 30 Aug. 2018

Word History

Etymology

Latin, digression, from excurrere

First Known Use

1803, in the meaning defined above