Etymograph

English

expenditure

Expenditure comes from Medieval Latin expendō ‘to weigh, to pay out’, from Proto-Italic *pendō ‘to hang, put in a hanging position’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- ‘to stretch’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pend-1‘to stretch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)péndeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pendō1‘to hang, put in a hanging position’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpendō1‘weigh, weigh out’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500expendō2‘to weigh, to pay out’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500expenditus2irregular perfect passive participle of expendō
  7. Englishtodayexpenditure2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin expendo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English expenditure

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pend-Wiktionary, Latin expendo‘to stretch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)péndetiWiktionary, Latin expendoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pendōWiktionary, Latin expendo‘to hang, put in a hanging position’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpendōWiktionary, Latin expendo‘weigh, weigh out’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500expendōWiktionary, English expenditure‘to weigh, to pay out’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500expenditusWiktionary, English expenditureirregular perfect passive participle of expendō
  7. EnglishtodayexpenditureWiktionary, English expenditure

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- ‘to stretch’

pound, span, depend, poise, pendant, pansy, pensive, 17 more

through Proto-Italic *pendō ‘to hang, put in a hanging position’

suspension, 13 more

through Latin pendō ‘weigh, weigh out’

spending, compensation, pension, compensate, suspend, penthouse, appendix, perpendicular, peso, compendium, dispensation, spender, piso, recompense, append, 13 more

through Medieval Latin expendō ‘to weigh, to pay out’

spend, expensive, 7 more

Today it means

noun Act of expending or paying out.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “expenditure”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin expendo. 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 *(s)pend- / expenditure

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