English
exponent
Exponent comes from Latin expōnēns ‘exposing’, from pōnō ‘to lay, place, put’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to build, cultivate’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-1‘to build, cultivate’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinéti1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinō1‘to put in place’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*sinō2‘to put in place’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpōnō3‘to lay, place, put’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexpōnō3‘to expose’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexpōnēns3‘exposing’present participle of expōnō
- Englishearliest quotation 1711exponent3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin sino
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin pono
- 3 Wiktionary, English exponent
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1711, Jacques Ozanam, Abridgement of Algebra. Chapter I. Of Monomes.: “A Power that hath neither the Signs #43; or…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-Wiktionary, Latin sino‘to build, cultivate’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinétiWiktionary, Latin sinoreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinōWiktionary, Latin sino‘to put in place’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*sinōWiktionary, Latin pono‘to put in place’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpōnōWiktionary, English exponent‘to lay, place, put’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexpōnōWiktionary, English exponent‘to expose’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexpōnēnsWiktionary, English exponent‘exposing’present participle of expōnō
- Englishearliest quotation 1711exponentWiktionary, English exponent. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1711, Jacques Ozanam, Abridgement of Algebra. Chapter I. Of Monomes.: “A Power that hath neither the Signs #43; or…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to build, cultivate’
suppose, homeless, compound, impose, hamlet, bohemian, homely, hame, 48 more
through Proto-Italic *sinō ‘to put in place’
opposition, proposition, deposition, disposition, compost, imposition, suppository, compositor, presupposition, prepositional, impost, apposite, 37 more
through Latin *sinō ‘to put in place’
site, situation, composition, posture, situate, supposition, preposition, positivism, compostela, situs, 15 more
through Latin pōnō ‘to lay, place, put’
post, position, positive, purpose, opposite, propose, consolation, dispose, opponent, repository, compose, posit, proponent, presuppose, pone, 53 more
through Latin expōnō ‘to expose’
Today it means
noun One who expounds, represents or advocates.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “exponent”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin sino, Latin pono. 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 *tḱey- / exponent