English
expand
Expand comes from Middle English expanden, from Anglo-Norman espaundre, from Latin expandō ‘to spread out’ (ex- + pandō ‘to spread’), ultimately from PIE *peth₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-1‘to spread out’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ptnéh₂ti1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pandō1‘to spread’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpandō2‘to spread’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexpandō2‘to spread out’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400espaundre2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500expanden2
- Englishearliest quotation 1667expand2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin pando
- 2 Wiktionary, English expand
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, Book I: “Then with expanded wings he steers his flight.”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-Wiktionary, Latin pando‘to spread out’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ptnéh₂tiWiktionary, Latin pandoreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pandōWiktionary, Latin pando‘to spread’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpandōWiktionary, English expand‘to spread’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexpandōWiktionary, English expand‘to spread out’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400espaundreWiktionary, English expand
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500expandenWiktionary, English expand
- Englishearliest quotation 1667expandWiktionary, English expand. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, Book I: “Then with expanded wings he steers his flight.”
The story
Recorded in Middle English since 1422 (as expanden, expaunden), from Anglo-Norman espaundre, from Latin expandō (‘to spread out’), itself from ex- (‘out, outwards’) + pandō (‘to spread’).
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with expand, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to spread out’
- mile ← myle ← mīl ← *mīliju ← mīlia
- repeat ← repeten ← repeter ← repeter ← repetō
- compete ← competer ← competere ← petō ← *péth₂eti
- pen ← penne ← penne ← penne ← penna
- petition ← peticiun ← petitio ← petō ← *péth₂eti
- helicopter ← hélicoptère ← πτερόν ← *pterón ← *péth₂r̥
- passage ← passer ← *passāre ← passus ← *pat-s-tus
- competitor ← compétiteur ← competō ← petō ← *péth₂eti
- feather ← fethere ← feþer ← *feþru ← *feþrō
- symptom ← sinthoma ← sinthoma ← symptoma ← σύμπτωμα
- perpetual ← perpetuel ← perpetuel ← perpetuālis ← perpetuus
- compass ← compas ← compas ← compassus ← passus
114 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
verb To change (something) from a smaller form or size to a larger one; to spread out or lay open.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “expand”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin pando. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- / expand