expletive
pronunciation
How to pronounce expletive in British English:
UK [ɪkˈspliːtɪv]
How to pronounce expletive in American English:
US [ˈeksplətɪv]
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- Noun:
- profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
- a word or phrase conveying no independent meaning but added to fill out a sentence or metrical line
Word Origin
- expletive
- expletive: [17] Originally, an expletive word was simply one used to ‘fill up’ a line of verse, to complete its metrical pattern (expletive comes from Latin explētus, the past participle of explēre ‘fill out’, a compound formed from the prefix ex- ‘out’ and plēre ‘fill’, source of English complete and related to English fill).Hence the term came to be used for a redundant word, not contributing anything to the meaning of the sentence: “The Key my loose, powerless fingers forsook”, a lame and expletive way of saying “I dropt the key”, Robert Southey 1804. The first recorded example of its euphemistic application as a noun to ‘profanities’ is by Sir Walter Scott in Guy Mannering 1815: ‘retaining only such of their expletives as are least offensive’.=> complete, full
- expletive (n.)
- 1610s, "a word or phrase serving to fill out a sentence or metrical line," from Middle French explétif (15c.) and directly from Late Latin expletivus "serving to fill out," from explet-, past participle stem of Latin explere "fill out, fill up, glut," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + plere "to fill" (see pleio-). Sense of "an exclamation," especially "a curse word, an oath," first recorded 1815 in Sir Walter Scott, popularized by edited transcripts of Watergate tapes (mid-1970s), in which expletive deleted replaced President Nixon's salty expressions. As an adjective, from 1660s.
- expletive (adj.)
- mid-15c., in grammar, "correlative," from Latin expletivus "serving to fill out" (see expletive (n.)).
Example
- 1. Like those who expletive their luck in too many places .
- 2. Darren 's eyebrows rose at my expletive before he exploded into laughter .
- 3. " Even when used as an expletive , the f-word 's power to insult and offend derives from its sexual meaning , " justice scalia added .
- 4. Expletive script complete family pack fonts .
- 5. Gee [ d ? I : ] int. used as a mild expletive or exclamation , as of surprise , enthusiasm , or sympathy .