expect English · revision 3278

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1560|origins=la specere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɪkˈspekt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|exspectāre|t=to await, look out for; hope, long for]], also expectāre,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[m|la|ex-|t=thoroughly]] and [[m|la|spectāre|t=to look]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the frequentative of [[m|la|specere|t=to look at]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) from [[ine-pro|*spek-|t=to observe]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) It is related to [[spectacle]] and [[spy]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “To wait, defer action”: 1560^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) or the 1550s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative sense “to look forward to, anticipate” developed in Latin and is attested in English from about 1600,^(Etymonline) first in Shakespeare's ''Julius Caesar'' (1601) according to Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988) The old sense “to wait for, await” is from 1585 and now obsolete.^(OED 1989) “To count on, rely on” is from the 1630s,^(Etymonline) and “to suppose, suspect” from the 1640s, regarded as a New England provincialism.^(Etymonline) Nelson's last signal before Trafalgar on 21 October 1805 was “England expects that every man will do his duty”.^(Cresswell 2021) Use as a euphemism for “to be pregnant” is from 1817, in Jane Austen's letters.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1560 – to wait.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1585 – to await.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1601 – to anticipate.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1630s – to count on.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1640s – to suppose.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1805 – “England expects…”.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1817 – to be pregnant.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To think that something will probably happen or arrive; to [[anticipate]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To consider something due or required: ''I expect an apology''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(informal)'' To suppose: ''I expect you're tired''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(be expecting)'' To be [[pregnant]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[expectable]]

+ * [[expectably]]

+ * [[expectedly]]

+ * [[expectedness]]

+ * [[expecter]]

+ * [[expectingly]]

+ * [[expectative]]

+ * [[overexpect]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[expectancy]]

+ * [[expectant]]

+ * [[expectation]]

+ * [[spectacle]]

+ * [[spy]]

+ * [[inspect]]

+ * [[respect]]

+ * [[suspect]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''To expect'' is to think something likely, ''to anticipate'' is to prepare for it or experience it in advance, and ''to hope'' adds desire to expectation.^(AHD) In the dialects of northern and midland England ''expect'' meant “to suppose, think”.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}