expression English · revision 4590

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1425|origins=la exprimere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|expressioun]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from Old French expression^(SOED 2002) or directly [[der|la|expressiō|t=a pressing out; in Late Latin, vividness, expression]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) a noun of action from expressus, past participle of exprimere “to press out; to represent, describe”,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) the source of [[express]].^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The action of pressing out: the early 15th century in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) late Middle English in SOED.^(SOED 2002) The OED's first literal example is from 1594.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The manifesting of feelings or qualities is from 1460,^(OED 1989) and putting into words from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline) ''Beyond expression'' is from 1624,^(OED 1989) a sign or token of a feeling from 1634,^(OED 1989) and an action or creation that expresses feelings from the 1620s.^(Etymonline) The look on a face is from 1774,^(Etymonline) and a word or phrase is from the 17th century in SOED.^(SOED 2002) In mathematics, a quantity stated in symbols, as √x, is a later sense.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * early 15th century – a pressing out.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1460 – the manifesting of feelings.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-15th century – putting into words.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1620s – an expressive action.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1774 – a facial expression.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act of expressing thoughts or feelings in words, art, music or movement.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A look on someone's face that shows a feeling.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A word or phrase: ''an old-fashioned expression''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Feeling or quality conveyed in a performance.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' A combination of [[symbol]]s representing a quantity or operation.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(genetics)'' The appearance in an organism of a characteristic controlled by a [[gene]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[expressional]]

+ * [[expressionless]]

+ * [[expressionlessly]]

+ * [[reexpression]]

+ * [[superexpression]]

+ * [[express]]

+ * [[expressive]]

+ * [[expressionism]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[press]]

+ * [[impression]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}