expound

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French espondre, from Latin exponere. Doublet of expose.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɪkˈspaʊnd/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -aʊnd

Verb

expound (third-person singular simple present expounds, present participle expounding, simple past and past participle expounded)

  1. (transitive) To set out the meaning of; to explain or discuss at length
    • 1891, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray:
      Some day, when you are tired of London, come down to Treadley, and expound to me your philosophy of pleasure over some admirable Burgundy I am fortunate enough to possess.
    Synonym: spell out
  2. (intransitive) To make a statement, especially at length.
    He expounded often on the dangers of the imperial presidency.

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for expound in
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)

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