Expert

How to spell expert

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce expert

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does expert mean?

1. nounA person with extensive knowledge or skill in a particular field.
2. adjectiveHaving or showing a high level of skill or knowledge.

Expert in a sentence

• noun

  The firm hired a tax expert to review the accounts.

• adjective

  The repair needed an expert hand to avoid further damage.

• noun

  As a security expert, she advised banks on fraud prevention.

• adjective

  His expert knowledge of wine impressed the whole table.

Where does expert come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Expert comes from the Latin expertus, the past participle of experiri, which meant 'to try out' or 'to put to the test'. That verb was built from the prefix ex-, meaning 'out' or 'thoroughly', and a root linked to periri, 'to attempt', so the literal idea was of someone who had been thoroughly tried and proven through experience. The same Latin root sits behind the everyday words 'experience' and 'experiment', which is a useful reminder that an expert is simply a person well tested by doing. English took the word in during the 1300s by way of Old French, first as an adjective meaning 'having experience' and later as a noun for a skilled authority. The single t at the end and the lack of any doubled letter make it a relatively gentle spelling, though the unstressed second syllable can still tempt a stray vowel.

How the word is built

• ex- (out, thoroughly)
• pert (from peritus: experienced, tested)