Etymograph

English

expire

Expire comes from Latin expīrō, from spīrō ‘breathe, be alive’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- ‘to blow’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)peys-1‘to blow’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fīsaną2‘to blow’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīrō3‘breathe, be alive’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexpīrō3
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600expirer3
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500expire3
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1595expire3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fīsaną
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin spiro, which cites Kroonen
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English expire
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet: “Expire the term / Of a despised life.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)peys-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fīsaną‘to blow’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fīsanąWiktionary, Latin spiro, which cites Kroonen‘to blow’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīrōWiktionary, English expire‘breathe, be alive’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexpīrōWiktionary, English expire
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600expirerWiktionary, English expire
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500expireWiktionary, English expire
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1595expireWiktionary, English expire. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet: “Expire the term / Of a despised life.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- ‘to blow’

spiritual, spiritus, 49 more

through Proto-Germanic *fīsaną ‘to blow’

conspire, 5 more

through Latin spīrō ‘breathe, be alive’

spirit, conspiracy, respiratory, spree, sprite, aspiration, esprit, aspire, spire, aspirant, 51 more

Today it means

verb To die.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “expire”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *fīsaną, Latin spiro. 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)peys- / expire

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