expert English · revision 4475

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1374|origins=la experiri}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈek.spɜːt/, US /ˈek.spɝːt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|expert]],^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|expert]], espert “experienced, skilled”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) and directly [[der|la|expertus|t=tried, proved, known by experience]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) past participle of experīrī “to try, test”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from ex “out of” and the root of peritus “experienced”,^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*per-|t=to try, risk]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[experience]] and [[experiment]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Having experience of, experienced in: about 1374 in the OED, about 1385 in Barnhart, in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde;^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) skilful: about 1374 in the OED, about 1384 in Barnhart, in the Wycliffe Bible.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The noun, a person wise through experience, is from before 1420, in Lydgate's Troy Book,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) but it reappears only in 1825,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) in the legal sense of a person whose special knowledge allows him to testify to matters of opinion in court,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) probably as a conversion of the English adjective rather than from French.^(Barnhart 1988) Merriam-Webster dates the noun from 1535.^(MWU 2024) A handwriting expert is from 1858,^(OED 1989) and in computing the ''expert system'' is from 1977.^(OED 1989) ''Expertise'' is from 1868, in Charles Reade's Foul Play, borrowed from French expertise “expert appraisal”.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1374 – experienced, skilled.^(OED 1989)

+ * a. 1420 – noun, a person wise through experience.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1825 – noun, an expert witness.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1868 – ''expertise''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1977 – ''expert system''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person with a high degree of [[skill]] or knowledge in a subject.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The highest grade in marksmanship, or a person who has reached it.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Having or showing great skill or knowledge from experience or [[training]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[expertly]]

+ * [[expertness]]

+ * [[expertism]]

+ * [[expertize]]

+ * [[unexpert]]

+ * [[expert witness]]

+ * [[expert system]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[experience]]

+ * [[experiment]]

+ * [[expertise]]

+ * [[peril]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The adjective tends to be stressed on the second syllable and the noun on the first.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}