expatiate

English

Etymology

From the participle stem of Latin expatior, from ex- + spatior (“walk about”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛkˈspeɪʃɪeɪt/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

Verb

1. (now rare) To range at large, or without restraint.
   • 1717, Alexander Pope, “Windsor-Forest”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintot, […], →OCLC, page 62:

     [L]ooks on heav'n with more than mortal eyes, / Bids his free ſoul expatiate in the skies, / Amidſt her kindred ſtars familiar roam, / Survey the region, and confeſs her home! Such was the life great Scipio once admir'd, / Thus Atticus, and Trumball thus retir'd.

2. To write or speak at length; to be copious in argument or discussion.

   Synonyms: descant, dilate, enlarge, expound

   • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, chapter 35

     Now, as the business of standing mast-heads, ashore or afloat, is a very ancient and interesting one, let us in some measure expatiate here.

   • (Can we date this quote by Addison and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     He expatiated on the inconveniences of trade.

   • 1992 May 3, "Comrade Bingo" Jeeves and Wooster, Series 3, Episode 6:

     WOOSTER: If you ask me, art is responsible for most of the trouble in the world.
     JEEVES: An interesting theory, sir. Would you care to expatiate upon it?
     WOOSTER: As a matter of fact, no, Jeeves. The thought just occurred to me, as thoughts do.
     JEEVES: Very good, sir.

   • 2007, Clive James, Cultural Amnesia (Picador 2007, p. 847)

     “It can't fly,” he expatiated. “It can move forward only by hopping.”

3. (obsolete) To expand; to spread; to extend; to diffuse; to broaden.

Translations

to write or speak at length; to be copious in argument or discussion, to descant

• Greek: μακρηγορώ (el) (makrigoró)
• Persian: شرح و بسط دادن
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: распространя́ться (ru) impf (rasprostranjátʹsja), разглаго́льствовать (ru) impf (razglagólʹstvovatʹ)

to range at large, or without restraint

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

obsolete: to expand; to spread; to extend; to diffuse; to broaden

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} uitweiden (nl), ^{(please verify)} breedvoerig spreken
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• French: ^{(please verify)} parler longuement, ^{(please verify)} appesentir sur quelque chose