Expostulate
/ɪkˈspɒstjʊleɪt/noun
To protest or complain forcefully about something.
Did you know?Expostulate belongs to the same ancient “asking” family as pray, precarious, deprecate, and imprecation—linking forceful argument with words once used for pleading, curses, and appeals to higher powers.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*prek-
“To ask, entreat, or demand”
Classical Latin
Latin
poscere
“To ask for, demand, or claim”
Classical Latin
Latin
postulare
“To ask, demand, or require”
Late Latin
Latin
expostulare
“To demand earnestly or complain about”
16th Century
French
expostuler
“To remonstrate or protest”
16th Century
English
expostulate
“To complain or argue vehemently”
Modern English
English
expostulate
“To protest or complain forcefully”
Explore more surprising origins