A very early borrowing of Latin exitus (“departure”) (ejidos are typically on the road out of a town or village), from past participle stem of exīre (“to go out”), from ex- (“out”) + īre (“to go”). The non-native nature of the word is indicated by the conservation of the high front vowel -i- as well as the absence of epenthetic -n- that is usually seen in inherited words from Latin beginning with ex- (see enjambre from Latin exāmine (“swarm”)). Doublet of éxito, a later borrowing.