Measure, as ex-cess, excess-ive Out of all cess means excessively, i e ex (out of all) cess Poor jade, is wrung in the withers out of all cess - Shakespeare: 1 Henry IV , ii 1 Cess A tax, contracted from assessment (sess); as a church-cess In Ireland the word is used sometimes as a contraction of success, meaning luck, as bad cess to you!