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exposure

Etymology and origin of the English word exposure

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1605
Ultimate origin
English (expose,-ure)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ɪkˈspəʊ.ʒə/, /ekˈspəʊ.ʒə/, US /ɪkˈspoʊ.ʒɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is from English expose + -ure,[2][3][4] on the pattern of words such as enclosure.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Public display or exhibition: about 1600 in Etymonline, 1605 in the OED and MWU.[2][6][4]

Semantic evolution

Leaving without shelter or defence is from 1606.[6] A building's position with regard to sun and weather is from the 1660s.[2] The photographic sense, exposing a sensitive surface to light, is from 1839.[2][6] Indecent exposure is attested by 1825, 1851 in the OED,[2][6] and the unmasking of something discreditable from 1826.[6] Being brought to public notice, as by the media, is from 1956.[6]

Timeline

  • 1605 – public display.[6]
  • 1606 – being left without shelter.[6]
  • 1660s – a building's aspect.[2]
  • 1826 – unmasking of wrongdoing.[6]
  • 1839 – in photography.[2][6]
  • 1956 – publicity.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The state of being exposed to something, such as danger or a harmful substance.
  2. Harm to the body from lack of shelter in cold weather: to die of exposure.
  3. The revealing of something hidden or shameful.
  4. Publicity, appearance in the media.
  5. The direction a building faces: a southern exposure.
  6. (photography) The act of letting light reach a film, or a single picture so made.

Word family

  • autoexposure
  • nonexposure
  • overexposure
  • postexposure
  • preexposure
  • reexposure
  • underexposure
  • double exposure
  • expose
  • exposition

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Exposure.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/exposure. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·