Expectation
/ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/noun
A belief that something will happen or be the likely result.
Did you know?Expectation comes from Latin expectare, literally “to look out for,” built from ex- (“out”) + spectare (“to watch”), the same root behind spectacle, inspect, and perspective.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*spek-
“to observe, look at”
Latin
Latin
specere
“to look, watch”
Latin
Latin
exspectare
“to look out for, await”
Old French
Old French
expectacion
“waiting, anticipation”
Middle English
English
expectacioun
“the act of awaiting or looking for”
Modern English
English
expectation
“the act or state of expecting; a strong belief that something will happen”
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