expedient

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[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

From Latin expediens (stem expedient-), present participle of expedire (to bring forward, to dispatch, to expedite; impers. to be profitable, serviceable, advantageous, expedient), from ex (out) + pes

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Adjective

expedient (comparative more expedient, superlative most expedient)

  1. Simple, easy, or quick; convenient.
    Most people, faced with a decision, will choose the most expedient option.
  2. Governed by self-interest, often short-term self-interest.

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[edit] Translations

[edit] Noun

expedient (plural expedients)

  1. A method or means for achieving a particular result, especially when direct or efficient; a resource.
    • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin 2010, p. 709:
      Depressingly, [...] the expedient of importing African slaves was in part meant to protect the native American population from exploitation.

[edit] Translations

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[edit] Latin

[edit] Verb

expedient

  1. third-person plural future active indicative of expediō
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