expedient

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English expedient,^[2] borrowed from Old French expedient (“useful, beneficial”)^[3][4][2] or directly borrowed from Latin expediēns (“beneficial”),^[3][4][2][5] the present participle of expediō (“to free, make ready, be advantageous”).^[3][5][6] The OED takes the word from French, and the Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English from Latin.^[6][7][8] The Anglo-Norman adjective is recorded from 1380, meaning advantageous or prudent.^[9] The noun is borrowed from French expédient, from the adjective, according to Merriam-Webster,^[5] and Barnhart derives it from the English adjective.^[4] The Latin verb literally meant to free the feet from fetters, from ex (“out of”) and an unattested *pedis (“fetter”),^[10][3] which is related to pedica (“shackle”), compēs (“fetter”) and pēs (“foot”), and cognate with Ancient Greek πέδη (pédē, “fetter”), from Proto-Indo-European *ped- (“foot”).^[10][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Suitable for a purpose, fitting: in 1418, in the Proceedings of the Privy Council, Suche personnes as you þenketh expedient.^[2] The OED's first record is by Lydgate, about 1430;^[6] Barnhart has before 1400, Etymonline the late 14th century.^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

Latin expediō moved from freeing and making ready to furthering matters and being helpful, and the main English sense, advantageous or fit for the circumstances, follows that later use.^[6] A second early sense stayed closer to expedite, "hasty, speedy", from about 1485 to 1616,^[6] and Johnson (1755) gave it as Shakespeare's meaning in King John: "His marches are expedient to this town".^[11] From 1774, in Goldsmith, the word could carry blame: useful or politic as opposed to just or right,^[6] which is Collins's second sense today.^[12] Johnson defined the noun as what helps forward, a means to an end,^[11] a use the OED records only from 1665 to 1667.^[6] The sense of a contrivance or device for meeting a difficulty is recorded from 1653.^[6][4][3]

Timeline

• 1418 – suitable for a purpose, fitting.^[2] Barnhart dates the adjective before 1400, Etymonline to the late 14th century and the OED to about 1430.^[4][3][6]
• c. 1485 – hasty, speedy (last recorded 1616).^[6]
• 1509 – nimbly, skilfully, as an adverb (recorded only then).^[6]
• 1644 – qualifying a noun, in Milton's Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce.^[6]
• 1653 – noun, a contrivance or resource, in Cogan's translation of Pinto.^[6][4] Merriam-Webster dates its noun sense 1 to 1630.^[5]
• 1774 – useful or politic as opposed to just or right, in Goldsmith's Retaliation.^[6]
• 1828 – studying expediency, in Leigh Hunt.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Suitable or advantageous in the circumstances; practical for a given end: The council thought it expedient to delay the vote until spring.^[5][12][6]
2. Advantageous for one's purpose rather than fair or just; politic.^[12][6]
3. (obsolete, c. 1485–1616) Speedy; expeditious.^[6][5][11]

Noun

1. A means to an end, especially something makeshift used in an emergency: A bent paperclip served as an expedient until the locksmith came.^[5][12][6]

Word family

• expediently
• inexpedient
• unexpedient

Related words

• expedience
• expediency
• expedite
• expedition
• impede
• impeach
• pedal
• foot
• fetter

Usage notes

The Century Dictionary, quoted by Etymonline, says that expedient, contrivance and device are artificial means of getting out of a difficulty, resource is a natural means or something one already has, and resort and shift may be either.^[3]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
11. ^ a b c Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins