Etymologically
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express

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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
  • 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