express

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪkˈspres/^[1]

Etymology

The verb is inherited from Middle English expressen,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French expresser (“to press, squeeze out; to speak one's mind”) and Medieval Latin expressāre,^[4][2][5] a frequentative of exprimere (“to press out; represent, describe”),^[4][2] from ex- “out” and premere “to press”,^[4][2][6] from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to strike”).^[4] The adjective is from Old French expres and expressus (“clearly presented, distinct”), the past participle of exprimere.^[4][2][6] The sense of the verb may have developed through clay or wax that takes the form of an image under pressure.^[4] It is related to press, expression and espresso.^[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The adjective “stated explicitly, not implied” is from about 1380, in Chaucer's House of Fame;^[2] the OED has about 1386.^[7] The verb “to represent, depict, put into words” is from the late 14th century,^[4] about 1384 in the Wycliffe Bible.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the verb also meant “to press out, extort”.^[6][5] The adjective took the sense “intended for a particular purpose” before 1400,^[2][8] and as an adverb, “specially, on purpose”, it is from the late 14th century.^[4] A messenger or dispatch sent specially was an express from 1619,^[9] and the verb “to send by express” is from 1716, first American.^[4][10] An express train (1841) at first ran expressly to one place without stopping on the way,^[4][8][2] and so the word came to mean “fast, rapid”.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1380 – adjective, explicit.^[2]
• c. 1384 – verb, to represent.^[2]
• before 1400 – for a special purpose.^[2]
• 1619 – noun, a special messenger.^[9]
• 1716 – to send by express.^[4]
• 1841 – express train.^[4][2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To put into words; to state.
2. To show or communicate, as by a gesture.
3. To make one's feelings or opinions known, as in speech or art.
4. To represent by a sign or symbol.
5. To squeeze or press out, as juice.
6. To send by express.

Adjective

1. Definitely and explicitly stated: my express orders.
2. Particular; specific: for the express purpose.
3. Direct, rapid and usually non-stop: an express train.

Noun

1. A fast train, bus or other vehicle making few stops.
2. A rapid system for delivering goods, mail or money.

Adverb

1. By express delivery.

Word family

• expresser
• expressible
• expressless
• expressage
• expressman
• expressway
• overexpress

Related words

• expression
• expressive
• expressly
• press
• espresso
• impress
• oppress
• depress

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 h i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press