Expectation

How to spell expectation

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce expectation

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does expectation mean?

1. nounA strong belief that something will happen or that someone will achieve a certain standard.

Expectation in a sentence

• There was a general expectation that interest rates would rise.

• The new manager set a clear expectation for punctuality across the team.

Where does expectation come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb exspectare, which literally meant 'to look out for' or 'to await', formed from ex- meaning 'out' and spectare meaning 'to watch' or 'to look at'. The same spectare root surfaces in a whole family of English words such as 'spectator', 'inspect', and 'spectacle', all of which still carry the idea of watching or looking. The noun exspectatio described the act of awaiting or anticipating something, and English took it up through French in the late 1500s, settling on the spelling 'expectation'. Over time the sense broadened from simply waiting for an event to include the confident belief that something will happen or the standard a person is held to. A useful spelling cue is that the middle 'pect' comes straight from spectare, so the word is built on 'looking forward', not on a 'pekt' sound.

How the word is built

• ex- (out, forth)
• spect (from spectare: to look at)
• -ation (noun of action)