Etymograph

English

expedience

Expedience comes from Latin expediens ‘expediting’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ped- ‘to walk, to step’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ped-1‘to walk, to step’next step skipped: Latin expediō
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexpediens1‘expediting’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEexpedientia1
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400expedience1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500expedience1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1595expedience1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English expedience
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1595, The Life and Death of King Richard the Second: “making hither with all due expedience”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ped-Wiktionary, English expedience‘to walk, to step’next step skipped: Latin expediō
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexpediensWiktionary, English expedience‘expediting’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEexpedientiaWiktionary, English expedience
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400expedienceWiktionary, English expedience
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500expedienceWiktionary, English expedience
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1595expedienceWiktionary, English expedience. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1595, The Life and Death of King Richard the Second: “making hither with all due expedience”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ped- ‘to walk, to step’

feet, foot, pilot, pie, pioneer, fetch, pawn, podium, pedestrian, impeachment, expedition, pedal, pew, pug, baht, pedigree, impede, pes, fet, impediment, ped, petiole, pedicure, centipede, puy, peon, fetter, pada, poy, tripos, pedometer, quadruped, biped, pedicle, pedicel, 50 more

Today it means

noun The quality of being fit or suitable to cause some desired end or the purpose intended; propriety or advisability under the particular circumstances of a case.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “expedience”. 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 *ped- / expedience

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