English
expound
Expound comes from Old French espondre ‘to tell, to recount’, from Latin expono ‘to make conspicuous, to put something where…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to cultivate’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-1‘to cultivate’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinéti1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinō1‘to put in place’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pozinō1reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpōnō1‘to place, put’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexpono2as exponere‘to make conspicuous, to put something where everyone may see it: to expose, exhibit’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400espondre2‘to tell, to recount’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500expounden2
- Englishearliest quotation 1891expound2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin expono
- 2 Wiktionary, English expound
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1891, Oscar Wilde, London; New York: “[…] Some day, when you are tired of London,…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-Wiktionary, Latin expono‘to cultivate’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinétiWiktionary, Latin exponoreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinōWiktionary, Latin expono‘to put in place’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pozinōWiktionary, Latin exponoreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpōnōWiktionary, Latin expono‘to place, put’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexponoWiktionary, English expoundas exponere‘to make conspicuous, to put something where everyone may see it: to expose, exhibit’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400espondreWiktionary, English expound‘to tell, to recount’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500expoundenWiktionary, English expound
- Englishearliest quotation 1891expoundWiktionary, English expound. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1891, Oscar Wilde, London; New York: “[…] Some day, when you are tired of London,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to cultivate’
suppose, homeless, impose, hamlet, bohemian, compound, homely, hame, 48 more
through Proto-Indo-European *tḱinéti
prepositional, apposite, 37 more
through Proto-Italic *sinō ‘to put in place’
site, situation, composition, posture, supposition, preposition, situate, positivism, compostela, situs, 39 more
through Proto-Italic *pozinō
opposition, proposition, deposition, disposition, imposition, compost, suppository, presupposition, compositor, impost, 24 more
through Latin pōnō ‘to place, put’
post, position, positive, purpose, opposite, opponent, propose, consolation, dispose, repository, compose, proponent, posit, presuppose, pone, 53 more
through Latin expono ‘to make conspicuous, to put something where…’
Today it means
verb To set out the meaning of; to explain or discuss at length.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “expound”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin expono. 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- / expound