Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “expendable” come from?

Expendable comes from English expend, from Latin expendo meaning "to weigh out or pay out," from the prefix ex- and the root (s)pend- meaning "to stretch or extend."

expendable (English): Able to be expended; not inexhaustible; Designed...

Definitions

  1. Able to be expended; not inexhaustible; Designed...

Ancestry of “expendable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishexpendto consume, exhaust; to spend, disburse
2Latinexpendō—
3Latinpendō—
4Proto-Italicpendōhang, put in a hanging position
5Proto-Indo-European(s)péndeti—
6Proto-Indo-European(s)pend-to stretch

Words derived from “expendable”

  • expendability
  • nonexpendable
  • unexpendable
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)pend- →