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except1

[ik-sept]
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preposition
  1. with the exclusion of; excluding; save; but: They were all there except me.
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conjunction
  1. only; with the exception (usually followed by that): parallel cases except that one is younger than the other.
  2. otherwise than; but (followed by an adv., phrase, or clause): well fortified except here.
  3. Archaic. unless.
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Idioms
  1. except for, if it were not for: She would travel more except for lack of money.
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Origin of except1

1350–1400; Middle English: orig., past participle adj. < Latin exceptus (past participle of excipere to take out), equivalent to ex- ex-1 + -ceptus (combining form of captus, past participle of capere to take)

Synonym study

1. Except (more rarely excepting ), but, save point out something excluded from a general statement. Except emphasizes the excluding: Take any number except 12. But merely states the exclusion: We ate all but one. Save is now mainly found in poetic use: nothing in sight save sky and sea.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for except for

except

preposition
  1. Also: except for other than; apart from; with the exception ofhe likes everyone except you; except for this mistake, you did very well
  2. except that (conjunction) but for the fact that; were it not true that
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conjunction
  1. an archaic word for unless
  2. informal except that; but for the fact thatI would have arrived earlier, except I lost my way
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verb
  1. (tr) to leave out; omit; exclude
  2. (intr often foll by to) rare to take exception; object
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Word Origin

C14: from Old French excepter to leave out, from Latin exceptāre, from excipere to take out, from capere to take
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for except for

except

v.

late 14c., "to receive," from Middle French excepter (12c.), from Latin exceptus, past participle of excipere "take out," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + capere "to take" (see capable). Meaning "to leave out" is from 1510s. Related: Excepted; excepting. Adjectival function led to use as a preposition, conjunction (late 14c.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with except for

except for

Also, with the exception of. Other than, were it not for. For example, Except for Jack, everyone came to the party, or With the exception of the weather, everything went extremely well. [c. 1600]

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.