Etymologically
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expansion

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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

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)