expedite

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin expedītus, the past participle of expediō (“to extricate, disengage; to make ready, put in order”),^[2][3][4][5] which literally meant to free the feet from fetters, the opposite of impediō (impede).^[2][3][6] The Latin verb is formed from ex- (“out”) and pēs (“foot”), stem ped-,^[2][7][5] or, according to Barnhart and Etymonline, from a noun *pedis (“fetter”) related to pēs,^[4][3] from Proto-Indo-European *ped- (“foot”).^[3] Barnhart traces the verb through an earlier adjective meaning speedy (1545) to a past participle meaning accomplished (1471).^[4][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

To perform quickly, to dispatch or accomplish: 1471, in George Ripley's Compound of Alchymy.^[2][4] The Oxford Dictionary of English likewise dates it to the late 15th century in the sense "perform quickly",^[9] while Etymonline dates the verb to the 1610s.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The OED explains how the Latin sense "to free the feet" was widened to freeing from difficulties, helping forward, getting a work out of hand and dispatching or sending off.^[2] Early English uses followed this: to clear something of difficulties or untie a knot (1614–67), to extricate oneself (1627–80), and to send out an army (1606) or an official document (before 1626).^[2] The main modern sense, to help forward or hasten the progress of something, is first quoted from Walter Raleigh, before 1618.^[2][8] The adjective expedite, prompt or speedy, from 1540, and also unimpeded or lightly equipped, was obsolete by the late 18th century;^[2][5][8] Johnson (1755) still entered it as "quick; hasty; soon performed".^[10]

Timeline

• 1471 – to perform quickly, to dispatch.^[2][4]
• 1540 – adjective, prompt, speedy (obsolete).^[2]
• 1596 – to push on with speed in travelling.^[2]
• 1606 – to send out an army or a courier.^[2]
• 1614 – to clear of difficulties (obsolete by 1667).^[2]
• before 1618 – to hasten the progress of.^[2][8]
• before 1626 – to issue a document officially.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To speed up the progress of something; to hasten or accelerate it: A courier was hired to expedite the delivery of the contracts.^[8][11][2]
2. To carry out something, such as business, promptly and efficiently.^[11][2]
3. (rare) To dispatch or issue documents or messages officially.^[11][2]

Adjective

1. (obsolete, 1540–1744) Prompt, speedy, expeditious.^[2][8][11]
2. (obsolete) Free from obstacles; unimpeded.^[2][8][11]

Word family

• expediter

Related words

• expedience
• expediency
• expedient
• expedition
• expeditious
• impede
• foot

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins