Expansion

How to spell expansion

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce expansion

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does expansion mean?

1. nounThe process of becoming larger, or an added part that makes something bigger.

Expansion in a sentence

• The company planned a major expansion into overseas markets.

• Heat causes the expansion of the metal rails in summer.

Where does expansion come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb expandere, meaning 'to spread out' or 'to unfold', which was formed from the prefix ex-, meaning 'out', and pandere, meaning 'to spread' or 'to stretch'. From the past participle stem came the noun expansio, describing the act of spreading out. English took the word in during the early 1600s, chiefly through scientific and technical writing, where it was useful for describing how gases, metals, and territories grew larger. The same pandere root lies behind 'expand', 'expanse', and even 'pass' (by way of a Vulgar Latin descendant), all sharing the idea of opening out across space. Knowing that the middle is 'pans', from spreading, helps fix the s before the -ion ending rather than a stray c.

How the word is built

• ex- (out)
• pans (from pandere: to spread)
• -ion (noun of action)