English
expectation
Expectation comes from Latin exspectātiō ‘expectation, waiting’, from spectō ‘to look at’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *speḱ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*speḱ-1‘to see, to look, to observe’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*spéḱyeti2‘to be looking at, to keep looking at’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*spekjō2‘to observe, see’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspeciō3‘to see’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspectō3‘to look at’frequentative of speciō
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexspectō4‘expect’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexspectātiō4‘expectation, waiting’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600expectation4
- Englishearliest quotation 1815expectation4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *spéḱyeti
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin specio
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin exspecto
- 4 Wiktionary, English expectation
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1815, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murra: “Emma was not sorry to be pressed. She read,…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*speḱ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *spéḱyeti‘to see, to look, to observe’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*spéḱyetiWiktionary, Latin specio‘to be looking at, to keep looking at’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*spekjōWiktionary, Latin specio‘to observe, see’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspeciōWiktionary, Latin exspecto‘to see’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspectōWiktionary, Latin exspecto‘to look at’frequentative of speciō
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexspectōWiktionary, English expectation‘expect’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexspectātiōWiktionary, English expectation‘expectation, waiting’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600expectationWiktionary, English expectation
- Englishearliest quotation 1815expectationWiktionary, English expectation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1815, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murra: “Emma was not sorry to be pressed. She read,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- ‘to see, to look, to observe’
spy, suspicion, microscope, espionage, skeptic, kaleidoscope, gyroscope, espy, 113 more
through Proto-Indo-European *spéḱyeti ‘to be looking at, to keep looking at’
scope, skeptical, endoscopic, macroscopic, spectroscopic, 111 more
through Proto-Italic *spekjō ‘to observe, see’
speculation, speculate, speculative, inconspicuous, especial, specular, 23 more
through Latin speciō ‘to see’
special, despite, specific, respect, species, perspective, spite, spice, aspect, inspector, spectrum, specify, specimen, inspection, conspicuous, inspect, retrospective, retrospect, specter, speculator, specious, 26 more
through Latin spectō ‘to look at’
Today it means
noun The act or state of expecting or looking forward to an event as about to happen.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “expectation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *spéḱyeti, Latin specio, Latin exspecto. 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 *speḱ- / expectation