expansion English · revision 4558

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1611|origins=la expandere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|expansion]],^(Etymonline) or directly [[bor|la-lat|expānsiō|t=a spreading out]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from expānsus, the past participle of Latin expandere “to spread out, unfold”,^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) from ex “out” and pandere “to spread, stretch”,^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*peth₂-|alt=*pete-|t=to spread]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[expand]] and [[expanse]].^(NODE 1998)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Something spread out, an expanse, especially the expanse of heaven: 1611 in the OED and MWU,^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) the 1610s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The action of spreading out or unfolding is from 1646,^(OED 1989) the 1640s in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and the action of making something larger or of increasing in volume from 1664.^(OED 1989) Locke used it for pure space (1690).^(OED 1989) Later senses include the writing out in full of what a statement implies (1858)^(OED 1989) and, in mathematics, an expression written as a sum or product of terms.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) Growth in the activities of a business or a country's economy is a modern sense.^(Collins 2023)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1611 – an expanse.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1646 – the act of spreading out.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1664 – increase in size or volume.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1690 – pure space.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1858 – detailed statement of what is implied.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act or process of making or becoming larger, or the state of being expanded.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An increase or development, especially of a business or [[economy]].^(Collins 2023)

+ # The amount by which something has expanded.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A fuller or more detailed version of something.^(AHD)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' An expression written as the sum or product of its [[term]]s.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[expansional]]

+ * [[expansionism]]

+ * [[antiexpansion]]

+ * [[expansionary]]

+ * [[nonexpansion]]

+ * [[overexpansion]]

+ * [[reexpansion]]

+ * [[expansion card]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[expand]]

+ * [[expanse]]

+ * [[expansive]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}