Exigent
Latin ex, out + agere, to drive
Exigent refers to something urgent or pressing that requires immediate action or attention. It can also describe a person, task or situation that is demanding, one that requires great effort.
First principles
Something exigent is a demand that cannot wait.
It drives a response out of you now, ready or not. What is at stake may be large or small; what makes it exigent is that delay is no longer free. The same word fits a standard that asks for your full effort rather than a gesture.
At its core, it asks:
- What is being demanded?Name exactly what the situation requires of you.
- How long can it wait?If the honest answer is no time at all, it is exigent.
- What will it take?An exigent demand asks for real effort, not a token response.
Etymology
- ex
- out, out of
- agere
- to drive, to do
The word exigent comes from the Latin exigēns, the present participle of exigere, meaning "to demand" or "to drive out." Exigere joins ex meaning "out" and agere meaning "to drive": to drive something out, and so to demand or exact it, as a payment is exacted. English exact comes from the same verb. The word was in English use by the late 16th century.