We often see the following expressions: excerpt from a contract, extract from an agreement. Both relate to a shorter versions of the original text, taken out of the context, reduced in volume, used for a particular purpose.
What is the difference between the two words?
Extract is the shorter version of the original text. By extracting a text, we keep all the relevant information, the content remains the same, but it becomes shorter and more concise. In legal English, certain jurisdictions use the term "company extract" which is a document, like the Certificate of Incorporation, which contains the most important data of a company.
Excerpt refers to one particular segment taken from a longer text. Excerpt is just one part of the entire text, and contrary to an extract, it does not contain the essence of the text.
