expectation English · revision 10622

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1538|origins=la exspectatio}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌek.spekˈteɪ.ʃən/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is from French expectation (14th century) or directly [[bor|la|exspectātiō|t=anticipation, an awaiting]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from the past participle of exspectāre, to look out for (see [[expect]]).^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Waiting or awaiting with confident anticipation: 1538 in Merriam-Webster, the 1530s in Etymonline, 1550 in the OED.^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Mentally looking for something to happen is from 1552,^(OED 1989) and looking for something as one's due, with ''expectations'' as what one hopes to receive, from 1655.^(OED 1989) The sense in Dickens's Great Expectations, prospects of future good such as an inheritance, is from the 1660s.^(Etymonline) In probability theory an expectation is an expected value.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1538 – anticipation.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1552 – forecasting.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1655 – looking for one's due.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1660s – prospects of inheritance.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act or state of expecting; [[anticipation]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something hoped for or looked forward to, often in the plural: ''great expectations''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A belief about what someone should do or achieve: ''to live up to expectations''.^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' The [[expected value]] of a random variable.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[expectational]]

+ * [[expectationist]]

+ * [[overexpectation]]

+ * [[preexpectation]]

+ * [[Expectation Sunday]]

+ * [[Expectation Week]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[expect]]

+ * [[expectant]]

+ * [[spectator]]

+ * [[inspect]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}