expedite

English

WOTD - 29 January 2012    

Etymology

From Latin expedītus (“unimpeded, unfettered”), perfect passive participle of expediō (“bring forward, set right”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈɛk.spəˌdaɪt/
• (US) IPA: /ˈɛk.spɪˌdaɪt/

Verb

expedite (third-person singular simple present expedites, present participle expediting, simple past and past participle expedited)

1. (transitive) To accelerate the progress of.

   He expedited the search by alphabetizing the papers.

2. (transitive) To perform (a task) fast and efficiently.

Antonyms

• impede
• slow down

Related terms

• expede (obsolete)
• expedience
• expediency
• expedient
• expedition

Translations

accelerate progress

Dutch: versnellen (nl), in vaart brengen (nl) Finnish: jouduttaa (fi), kiirehtiä (fi), nopeuttaa (fi) German: beschleunigen (de) Greek: επισπεύδω (el) (epispévdo), διευκολύνω (el) (diefkolíno)

Polish: przyspieszyć (pl) Portuguese: acelerar (pt), apressar (pt) Russian: поторапливать (ru), ускорять (ru), продвигать (ru), способствовать (ru) Spanish: acelerar (es), apresurar (es)

process fast and efficiently

Finnish: kiirehtiä (fi) Greek: επισπεύδω (el) (epispévdo)

Marathi: जलद  (mr) Russian: быстро выполнять (ru), быстро справляться (ru)

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Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA: /eks.peˈdiː.teː/

Etymology

From expedītus (“unimpeded, unfettered”), perfect passive participle of expediō (“liberate, free”).

Adverb

expedītē (comparative expedītius, superlative expedītissimē)

1. freely, without impediment.
2. readily, promptly, quickly

Related terms

• expediō
• expedītus

References

• expedite in Charlton T. Lewis & Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1879