expansion

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɛk.spɑ̃.sjɔ̃/^[1]

Forms

expansion f (plural expansions)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin expānsiō (“extension, spreading out”),^[2][3][4][5] from “expansum”, the supine of Latin expandō (“to spread out, unfold”),^[3][6] formed from “ex-” and Latin pandō (“to spread”).^[7][6] The same Latin verb gave the inherited épandre.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Simon Goulart (1584) has expansion du ciel as a term of astronomy;^[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg record only sporadic 16th-century uses.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word was taken up again at the end of the 17th century for growth, development (Dionis, 1695), and in the 18th century became a term of physics, for the dilatation of a fluid (Trévoux, 1752), of anatomy and of botany.^[3][2][7] Sieyès uses it in 1789.^[2] In the 19th century it passed into general use for spreading through a territory (1870), as in expansion coloniale (Ferry, 1885), whence expansionniste (1866) and expansionnisme (1911).^[3][7]

From growth in volume it came to mean the outpouring of feelings, effusiveness (1801, Mercier: une expansion originale in the French character), and in the plural moments of effusion (Balzac, 1831);^[3][8] the adjective expansif had already taken this sense in Rousseau.^[3][4] In the 20th century it is economic growth and population increase, and in astronomy l'expansion de l'univers.^[3][9]

Timeline

• 1584 – Expansion du ciel in Simon Goulart.^[2]
• 1695 – “Growth, development”, in Dionis.^[3]
• 1752 – A term of physics, in Trévoux.^[3]
• 1756 – Expansible, expansibilité.^[3]
• 1801 – “Effusiveness”, in Mercier.^[8]
• 1870 – Territorial expansion.^[3]
• 1885 – Expansion coloniale in Ferry.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (physics) Expansion, dilatation: l'expansion des gaz.^[9][2]
2. (astronomy) L'expansion de l'univers: the expansion of the universe.^[9][10]
3. (anatomy, botany) An outgrowth, extension of an organ.^[9][6]
4. Spread, extension (of a country, an idea): expansion coloniale.^[9][3]
5. Economic growth: une économie en expansion.^[3][9]
6. (literary) Effusiveness, outpouring of feeling.^[6][3]

Word family

• expansible
• expansibilité
• expansif
• expansionniste
• expansionnisme

Related words

• épandre
• Latin expandō
• English expansion

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 303b
6. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
9. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)