Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “expectant” come from?

Expectant comes from Old French expectant, from Latin expectans, the present participle of expecto, meaning to await or look out for.

expectant (English): Marked by expectation; Pregnant; Awaiting the...

Definitions

  1. Marked by expectation; Pregnant; Awaiting the...

Ancestry of “expectant”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchexpectant—
2LatinexpectansAlternative form of exspectans
3LatinexpectoAlternative form of exspectō
4Latinspectō—
5Latinspeciō—
6Proto-Italicspekjōto observe, to see
7Proto-Indo-Europeanspéḱyetito be looking at, to keep looking at
8Proto-Indo-Europeanspeḱ-to see, to look, to observe

Words derived from “expectant”

  • expectancy
  • expectantly
  • unexpectant
  • unexpectantly
  • inexpectant
Every word from Proto-Indo-European speḱ- →