- exact (adj.)
- "precise, rigorous, accurate," 1533, from L. exactus, pp. of exigere, lit. "to drive or force out," also "demand, finish, measure," from ex- "out" + agere "drive, lead, act" (see act). The verb (1380, implied in exaction) is older in Eng. and represents the literal sense of the Latin. Exacting "too demanding" is from 1583. Elliptical use of exactly for "quite right" not recorded before 1869. Exacta as a type of horse-racing bet is first attested 1964, said to have originated in N.Y.