expedient
See also: expédient
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English expedient, from Old French expedient, 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”) + pēs (“foot, hoof”).
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
expedient (comparative more expedient, superlative most expedient)
- Suitable to effect some desired end or the purpose intended.
- Most people, faced with a decision, will choose the most expedient option.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 16:7:
- Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter willnot come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
- a. 1863, Richard Whately, Thoughts and Apophthegms:
- Nothing but the right can ever be the expedient, since that can never be true expediency which would sacrifice a greater good to a less.
- Affording short-term benefit, often at the expense of the long-term.
- 1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter III, in The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume I, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 389:
- [T]he judges were unanimously of opinion that [...] by the common law of England, no man, not authorised by the crown, had a right to publish political news. While the Whig party was still formidable, the government thought it expedient occasionally to connive at the violation of this rule.
- 2009, CQ Weekly[1], volume 67, numbers 31-36, page 2190:
- That's because the debate pits textbook economics — which argues that bailouts beget bad behavior begets more bailouts — against practical politics. And politics, or the taking of expedient steps to keep people happy, will almost always win.
- 2011, L. Fletcher Prouty, Jesse Ventura, The Secret Team: The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the World[2]:
- Government has slowly but positively moved from an active course of following plans and policies to the easier and more expedient course of the counterpuncher.
- 2013, Douglas B. Klusmeyer, Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Immigration Policy in the Federal Republic of Germany[3]:
- Its policies toward foreign lab or across these eras reflect these sharp differences in context, but also reflect a common pattern to treat the recruitment and deployment of foreign nationals as an expedient measure to serve immediate economic objectives
- Governed by self-interest, often short-term self-interest.
- 1861, John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism:
- But the Expedient, in the sense in which it is opposed to the Right, generally means that which is expedient for the particular interest of the agent himself; as when a minister sacrifices the interests of his country to keep himself in place.
- (obsolete) Expeditious, quick, rapid.
- c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], lines 57–61:
- the adverse winds / Whose leisure I have stay'd, have given him time / To land his legions all as soon as I; / His marches are expedient to this town / His forces strong, his soldiers confident.
Synonyms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
suitable to effect some desired end or the purpose intended
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simple, easy, or quick; convenient
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affording short-term benefit
governed by self-interest
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Noun edit
expedient (plural expedients)
- A method or means for achieving a particular result, especially when direct or efficient; a resource.
- 1791 December 5, Alexander Hamilton, “Alexander Hamilton’s Final Version of the Report on the Subject of Manufactures”, in Harold C. Syrett, editor, The Papers of Alexander Hamilton[4], volume 10, New York: Columbia University Press, published 1966, →LCCN, →OCLC:
- To secure such a market, there is no other expedient, than to promote manufacturing establishments.
- 1906, O. Henry, The Green Door:
- He would never let her know that he was aware of the strange expedient to which she had been driven by her great distress.
- 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 709:
- Depressingly, [...] the expedient of importing African slaves was in part meant to protect the native American population from exploitation.
Translations edit
a means for achieving an end
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Further reading edit
- “expedient”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “expedient”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “expedient”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “expedient”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Catalan edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin expedientem.
Pronunciation edit
- IPA(key): (Central) [əks.pə.ðiˈen]
- IPA(key): (Balearic) [əks.pə.ðiˈent]
- IPA(key): (Valencian) [eks.pe.ðiˈent]
Adjective edit
expedient m or f (masculine and feminine plural expedients)
Noun edit
expedient m (plural expedients)
Derived terms edit
Further reading edit
- “expedient” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
Latin edit
Verb edit
expedient
Romanian edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from French expédient.
Noun edit
expedient n (plural expediente)
Declension edit
Declension of expedient
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
| nominative/accusative | (un) expedient | expedientul | (niște) expediente | expedientele |
| genitive/dative | (unui) expedient | expedientului | (unor) expediente | expedientelor |
| vocative | expedientule | expedientelor | ||