Etymologically
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expiration

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 15:27. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌɛk.spəˈɹeɪ̯.ʃən/[1]
  • US: /ˌɛk.spɚˈeɪ̯.ʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English expiracioun,[2][3][4] borrowed from Latin exspīrātiō (“a breathing out, exhalation”) or expīrātiō,[2][5][6] a noun of action from the past participle of exspīrō (“to breathe out; to breathe one's last”),[2][5][7] formed from ex- (“out”) and spīrō (“to breathe”).[2] It is related to expire and spirit.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A vapour or exhalation: in the early 15th century,[2][7][8] a sense obsolete by the mid 17th century.[8]

Semantic evolution

From about 1530 it meant breathing one's last, death, a sense now obsolete.[5][8][3] The sense "end, close", first of a period of time or of something made to last a fixed time, such as a law or a truce, is recorded from 1562,[5] the 1560s in Etymonline,[2] and is now the main one.[9][3] The physiological sense, the act of breathing air out of the lungs, is recorded from 1603.[5][8] Johnson (1755) put the breathing sense first.[10]

Timeline

  • early 15th century – a vapour, an exhalation (obsolete).[2][8]
  • c. 1530 – death, breathing one's last (obsolete).[5][3]
  • 1562 – the end of a set period, or of a law or agreement.[5][2]
  • 1603 – the act of breathing out air from the lungs.[5]
  • 1642 – emission of air or vapour.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The coming to an end of something that lasts for a set time, such as a contract, lease or licence; expiry: The visa runs out on the expiration of his contract.[9][3][8]
  2. The act or process of breathing out air from the lungs; exhalation.[9][3][5]
  3. (obsolete) The last breath; death.[5][8][9]

Word family

  • expiration date

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.